The Justice of a Tech-Priest
by TheBadPanda
Summary: In the midst of a Chaos Invasion, a Tech-Priest of Mars is flung through a Warp Gate. Rather than a gruesome end at the hands of Chaos, the Omnissiah spared the adept's life. Now the Tech-Priest finds himself in a strange world with strange people, and must use his holy knowledge to protect it.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys new story.

This is a spin-off/tribute to the Death Korps of Justice by Lord-of-Change. I made this with his permission.

I am not the best at 40K lore, but from what I have gathered about Tech-Priests is that they are universally considered very 'weird'. Sure they get the job done but they are almost universally considered off and not very relatable unless you really get to know them.

I purposefully left Cardsharp's description vague because he hides a lot of his form under his red robes. But you will come to see more of him in the next chapter.

Would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Chapter 1

Subsector Marxian, Segmentum Ultima. A backwater system if there ever was one. Average production, above average recruitment, self-sufficient, loyal Imperialists and altogether quiet.

Its purpose was little more than a brief supply point for those poor souls heading to the front lines. It was such an uneventful place far from danger that many soldiers cannot even recall visiting it.

So _of course_ Chaos would try and invade it.

How it turned to Chaos would be an issue to be dissected by the Inquisition. All that mattered was that in a few short weeks Chaos was taking root. The loyalist put up a fight and sent an emergency distress beacon to any and all who would listen.

The subsector itself and the citizens that lived in it held little strategic value. The fact that it was Imperium territory and Chaos wanted it was enough for the arm-chair generals at Segmentum Command.

They wanted a victory and they needed it to be decisive and quick. Cue the Tallarn 94th Desert Raiders, a regiment with history of being both. The regiment descended from the skies like a dark storm, taking what was once lost from the foul forces of Chaos.

Six unspeakably bloody months in and they have reached the capital of the subsector, the planet Kant.

The 4th Company stood in the loading bay of the _Lunar_ -class Cruiser _Titanfall_ , their captain providing them with a sort of 'motivational' speech.

"Alright listen up you sad sacks!" Captain Melak yelled. "It's been a long road, but now it's coming to a close. The Inquisition are behind us and want to pick up the pace. A regiment of the Death Korps of Krieg has been rerouted to our location, but I will be dammed before I let them steal our glory. This is a Tallarn victory! A 4th Company victory!"

Many soldiers jeered in agreement.

"The entire regiment is counting on us," Melak smirked, "and I will not let those sand diggers in 8th company have the satisfaction of completing their objectives before us."

Many in the company chuckled, their rivalry with 8th company was a friendly joke in the battalion. Many of the senior officers have been known to take bets on which company will come first; in war, everyone has a hobby.

"Memorise your strike packages and check your equipment before we land." Melak stood tall and proud. "Let our shots be true and may the Emperor be with us. Commissar Gevin, do you have anything you wish to add?"

A tall imposing man with man scars and no evidence of having ever smiled stepped out behind him like a phantom. "Well said Captain." He growled in a way that made people uncomfortable. "This is a bastion of Chaos. There are no innocents on this world, only cowards and heretics. You are to shoot on sight. Anyone that is not shooting at what I am shooting at, _becomes_ what I am shooting at." The penetrating gaze of the uniformed officer glared at each soldier before him. "I have served with you since the beginning of this campaign, I know you will each do yourselves, you captain, your company and your regiment proud."

The words 'or else…' while not said but definitely communicated in his voice. Gevin was reasonable for a commissar. However, regardless of his personality, whether he was liked or even that he turned a blind eye to the occasional infraction; he was a commissar. That alone was enough to be wary of him. "The Emperor protects." The Commissar bowed his head and stood back in the shadows.

"Confessor Vallah is available for those who wish it." Malek stood forward again. "We have an hour. Everyone grab something to eat, and check your bloody equipment. I will not have a repeat of Furvos XI. Dismissed."

The company replied with a crisp salute and slowly left the landing bay. There was only one who shuffled about his duties unabated. A red-robed adept of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

The Tech-Priest of Mars shuffled along several Chimera Tanks, repairing minor damage to the hull. The last battle on Kobat Moon left a majority of their tanks in bullet-ridden shape. Using his servo-arm he slowly bent the armour in place, sealing it with a high powered torch stored in in right little digit. _Another satisfied Machine Spirit._

 _= Chimera Model TS84309502395091-4-1204488 repaired =_

 _= Outstanding Chimera repairs: 26 =_

 _= Commencing repair on Chimera Model GH3095203923-093-4Z =_

The Tech-Priest's name was unpronounceable with a human tongue, needless to say he was blessed with the moniker Cardsharp by Segmentum. But was affectionately known in the Tallaran 94th as-

"Sharp!"

"Yes Captain Melak?" The red robed cyborg replied turning to face the company leader, the commissar trailing behind.

"I need you to iron on the kinks on the Sentinel's. We need everything we have if we are going to take this world down." Melak asked.

"What of the Chimeras?" The Tech-Priest uttered a series of clicks and static. "Not all of them have been healed."

"No time." Melak dismissed the cyborg's concern. "We have an excess of Chimera's and will make do with what we have."

"You should have informed me earlier Captain Melak, I-"

"Sharp, don't." The commander softened a little. "I know you have a lot on your plate, especially since Tech-Priest Kyriz died. But I need those Sentinel's, and I need them now."

 _=Error=_

The servo-arm jerked slightly but Sharp made no other indication that he heard them. The Captain Melak and Commissar Gevin shared an odd look. "Sharp, you are all I've got. I need those Sentinels. Can you handle it?"

"Of course." The Tech-Priest called Cardsharp bowed slightly to the metal tank next to it before moving on to another part of the hold, where the bi-pedal Sentinels were waiting.

 _= Mission: Chimera repairs. Status: terminated =_

 _= New mission: Ensure Sentinels are functional =_

"He's a bit odd." The Commissar's eyes narrowed, suspecting something was wrong. "For a tech-priest I mean."

"Tech-Priest Kyriz was killed in the last battle." Melak shrugged. "Cardsharp is now acting Tech-Priest for the company. He's probably rattled."

"I don't like it." The Commissar frowned. "Our only tech-priest and no one to verify his work."

"If you are suspecting heresy Commissar Gevin, you need not worry." The captain began walking out of the loading bay. "Cardsharp's a fighter and loyal to the cause, he's never let us down."

"What do you know about him?"

"Not much, you know tech-priests; they keep to themselves." The captain scratched his chin. "All I know is that this is his first mission out. He is young, but knowledgeable. He joined our company just before the campaign as an acolyte to Tech-Priest Kyriz. With Kyriz gone, he's all we have left."

"Hmmm." The commissar mused trailing him in kind. "I don't feel comfortable trusting a critical mission to a novice."

"Maybe." Melak quipped. "But he's all we have."

0o0o0o

Cardsharp whittled with the time he had left. True to Melak, he did not let them down. He managed to get all the faulty sentinels back on line. The last of the sentinel's hummed back to life as he connected the generator back to the main fuel nacelle. "Blessed Machine Spirit, I see you have awoken."

 _= Sentinel BY983798372987-34928749187 repaired =_

 _= Outstanding Sentinel repairs: 0 =_

The on-board computer beeped several times, the diagnostic board showing all green. "Excitable I see. Do not fear Machine Spirit, you shall serve the Emperor in due course."

"So Sharpie, I see this one is up and running too. Well done." The Tech-Priest turned to see Dan, leader of squad 12. Lieutenant Dan as he called himself was not exactly a friend per se, but he was more approachable and kinder than the rest of the division. Tech-priests are not exactly welcomed nor involved in social activities unless they are told to fix something, hence why they keep to themselves. Dan used to invite Cardsharp and Kyriz to their poker games, emphasis on 'used to'.

"I did nothing. The Machine Spirit is eager to join the fray." Cardsharp gently patted the control panel. "She desires a fight."

"She's going to get it." Dan chuckled. "Sharp, I'll need you to stick close to us. I need you to ensure the Sentinel's stay online. According to 2nd company there is a heck of a firefight going on down there."

 _= Error =_ One of the many limbs, his mechadendrites twitched involuntarily. They were a part of him just as a hand was part of Dan. "You okay bud?" Dan's brows furrowed.

"I'm fine." The tech-priest climbed out of the Sentinel.

"You want to talk about it?" Dan asked. "I mean I know that Kyriz was your mentor and the way he went-"

"I do not need to be reminded. I know." One of the many unpleasant looking bionic machines attached to his back twitched in irritation. "I just need to get my equipment."

Dan nodded; he was not exactly sure how old Sharp was, but he had to guess he was still young if death still bothered him, specifically Kyriz's. Though Cardsharp would never admit it, deep down he was still human.

0o0o0o

The exact moment the doors were dropped, the 4th company were fired upon. It was only by the grace of volley from the sentinel's did they Tallarn soldiers have time to leave the ship and take cover. Soldiers rushed out of the transport ship, equipment and all leaving a lone 'man' to walk calmly onto the battlefield. Cardharp's 'equipment' was his Omnissian Power Axe, something no tech-priest should be without, two independent ballistic mechadendrites and an eradication ray for close encounters.

Floating above Cardsharp's head were his favoured (and only) two servo-skulls KA63 and KA64, but everyone else called them Tongue and Pardon respectively.

KA63 was a Guardian variant. Bestowed Tongue because of its large repeater rifle on its underside imitating someone sticking their tongue out. This is one of the few opportunities for Cardsharp to let it loose and perform the duties it was created for.

KA64 was more frequently seen, a Monotask variant, it was usually seen hovering over Cardsharp assisting in a variety of methods, most notably repairs. However, in this case its original programming was replaced with advanced targeting and tracking allowing Tongue to blow whatever it looked at to smithereens. It was given the name 'Pardon' because if always responded to any request that was not Cardsharps with 'pardon me?'

Sharp's mechanical eyes absorbed the situation quickly, they were on the outskirts of the capital in the south west. What was once a grand city was a metropolis of rubble, most of it old, clearly Chaos was having fun. The skies were reddened with warp taint, black ships of the Emperor's faithful descended to the planet. Rockets, lasfire and harsh insults flew in all directions.

Amongst the violence and the screams, Sharp took the opportunity to kneel, his hand resting on the iron hull of the transport ship. "Blessed Machine Spirit, I give thanks for our safe arrival. May yee find honor in our cause and help-"

"What are you doing you fool?!" The tech-priest was spear tackled to the ground, lasfire erupting above them. Cardsharp's mechanical tendrils immediately zeroed in on the attacker, only to face the grim expression of Commissar Gevin. Commissar saving someone; that was a first.

"The Emperor's faithful deserve to be thanked, machine or not."

"Maybe, but you can do that when we are not in the middle of a firefight!" The commissar bellowed, attempting to haul the cyborg to his feet, with little success. "Get your ass to fourth squad or so help me I will shoot you now!"

"Of course." The tech-priest used the strange attachments to upright himself and moved alongside what was left of a wall rendezvousing with his entourage, the 4th Mechanised Squad.

"There you are Sharp!" Dan jeered. "Come on, you're going to miss the party!"

"We fail to see how invading a chaos infested city is a party." Sharp beeped.

 _=Repair Mode Activated=_

Nonetheless, the Sentinels moved forward, the tech-priest in tow. Laspistols sounded across the city interrupted by the volleys of heavy cannon fire.

"Leman Russ! On the right!" Dan cried out seeing the metal behemoth crash through building, the symbol of chaos painted on the side in an unpleasant red colour. The Sentinel's rounded their guns but the corrupted Leman Russ managed to get a shot off. Only Cardsharp's sensors were detailed enough to see the cannon deploy a Hellfire Round and watch it slam into Dan's cockpit.

Fortunately that was the only shot it could get off. The rest of the Sentinel's fired upon the enemy destroying it utterly. _For shame,_ Cardsharp thought, _two perfectly good Machine Spirits destroyed._

"Dammit! They killed Dan! What do we do now?!" A soldier cried.

"We keep moving!" Another answered. The Sentinels continued down the road, mostly having to deal with commandeered tanks and with each destruction, Cardsharp groaned in sadness. So many Machine Spirits lost.

It was only till they reached the city square did something go wrong. Cardsharp's sensors noticed to late the place with rigged with mines. "It's a trap! AMBUSH!" But the damage was done, the ground itself erupted with explosions. The Sentinels toppled over, their Machine Spirits groaning in pain, taking their pilots with them.

It was only when Cardsharp's optics filtered the debris did he realise to very bad things; one the Sentinels he slaved over to heal were wrecked and he was completely alone and surrounded. "Machine Spirits, forgive me."

If there were no Machine Spirits to heal, then Cardsharp had to resort to secondary protocols.

 _= Repair Mode Deactivated =_

 _= Skitarii Protocols Activated =_

Power was rerouted throughout the tech-priest's body, shuffling into the tendrils and feet to ensure maximum agility. The ballistics began to unfurl out of his robe already locking on targets. He finally pulled out the eradicating ray and aimed it into the smoke.

 _= Yellow Alert. Standby =_

Several soldiers, lost souls who turned away from the Emperor's light stepped from behind derelicts. Amused looks on their faces. "Ha! Told you they would fall for it." A man with rotten teeth cackled.

Another soldier, one taller stronger shook his head. "Maybe, but the Master will not be pleased that we had to lure them so close to a tear to do it."

 _= Targets: 15 humans. Initialising weapon systems, targeting vital organs =_

"Yeah but – woah what's that?" One of the traitors squinted through the rubble looking at the tech-priests blurry form. _That's our cue._

 _= Engaging =_

The one with the rotten gums was the first to go, his head exploded in a flash of light from lasfire. The second barely had time to blink when he two lost his head.

"A survivor!" Someone called out. "Kill HIM!"

 _= Analysing fields of fire. Calculating trajectory =_

Pardon emitted a red laser from its eyes sockets tracking the most efficient method of lining up the assailers. Tongue unloaded its barrels in sync with where Pardon's laser was pointed mowing down the traitors so fast they did not have time to seek cover.

= Targets: 0 =

 _=Skitarii Protocols on Standby=_

Cardsharp stepped out of the dust and rubble surveying the damage.

 _= Diagnostic Mode Active =_

As Sharp feared, the Sentinels were damaged beyond repair, their Machine Spirits lost. Their pilots dead. "Blessed Machine Spirits, forgive me for not saving the shells that protect you. May you find peace in the light of the Omnissiah and Emperor-ack!"

Cardsharp felt the lasers penetrate and sear his frame, metal and flesh alike. Pain shot through to his brain causing his vision to blur into static.

 _=Alert: Sustained Damage. Calculating trajectory of impact. Rerouting KA63 and KA64 to intercept =_

Tongue and Pardon rounded on the source only to be shot down in sparks and electricity.

 _= Alert: Communication with KA63 and KA64 severed =_

Cardsharp could feel their connection wither and sever from the mind. Their machine spirits abandoned him, sucking the air from his lungs. _KA63…KA64…No…_

KA64 had been with him from the beginning, assigned to him when he first became an adept.

KA63 was a parting gift from Tech-Priest Kyriz.

 _= Alert Damage Assessment: Servo-arm damaged. Visual sensors 2 through 6 offline. Cardiac Implant 3 damaged. Mind Impulse Unit offline. Four structural failures detected =_

 _= Alert: System Failure. Rerouting in progress =_

"Well that was easy." A voice chuckled. Sharp's auditory sensors locked in on the source. A man walked from behind a broken wall. He wore the uniform of an Imperial Guardsman, a major judging by the insignia on his breastplate. He also carried the MK63 Segmentum Ultima Variant Lasgun, and it was pointed directly at Sharp's head.

The tech-priest's eyes zoomed onto his shoulder plate to see the Aquila scarred and burnt replaced with an eight-pointed star. The symbol forged from something that looked suspiciously like blood.

 _= Error =_

"Oh a tech-priest I see." The heretic grinned revealing blackened gums and stained teeth.

" _You heretical scum_." Cardsharp's vox albeit damaged conveyed his anger and intense hatred in cold metallic monotone. Sharp tried to move his arm to shoot the filthy heretic in the face with the eradication ray, but tech-priest's arm was not responding.

 _= Alert Damage Assessment: Neural Relays 3, 9 and 7 damaged. Operational efficiency at 16.8%. Rerouting in progress =_

"Having trouble are we?" The ex-major laughed. "Well you can't have everything I suppose. You should consider yourself flattered, your about to witness the straw that breaks the Imperial Guard's back." He lowered his weapon downward. The tech-priest thanked the Ommnissiah for being blessed with a stupid Chaos heretic.

Sharp needed time so the tech-priest decided to humour the traitor. "Explain."

"Do I need to," the major twirled around, "look at where you are."

Sharp complied, absorbing ruins and finally noticed the strange symbols surrounding the ambush site…and the strange emanations that ebbed from them. "Warp tear."

 _= Redundant System 432A online. Rerouting in Progress =_

"See, I knew you could solve it." The Chaos heretic reached to a pack and pulled a small object, a blackened talisman. Sharp did not bother to scan the readings that emanated from the thing, a Chaos relic of some sort.

 _= Alert: Proximity Warning. New targets inbound =_

Sharp paled as a group of fourteen traitor Guardsman came pouring forth from the north, an uncomfortable gleam in their eyes.

"You okay, Calig?" One of the traitors raised a brow.

"Perfectly fine." The major shrugged.

 _= Relay 15623C activated. Neural Relay 9 online =_

 _= Alert: System Failure. Rerouting in Progress =_

"We're about to be overrun." The traitor guardsman reported. "What do we do?"

"Fear not." The major held up cursed relic. "Reinforcements are one the way."

"Hey what do we do with this guy?" One of the guardsman tapped Sharp on the head with the tip of his lasgun.

"Leave him," the major waved off his concern, "he's no threat now. Besides what better way to earn the Dark God's favour by offering him a sacrifice?" The guardsman laughed sending an unexpected electrical surge down Sharp's spines. "Let me begin the ceremony."

 _= Cardiac Implant 2 Online =_

 _= Alert: System Failure. Rerouting in progress =_

The Tech-Priest could feel his limbs twitching back on. The mechandrites on his back were still not working, but he could feel more mobility now that he did a minute before. Sharp urged patience, panic would only make things worse. Still being offered as a sacrifice to a demonic being is not something anyone wants to be.

 _= Rerouting in progress =_

The major called Calig began to chant something and the energy that emanated off the Chaos relic increased tenfold, a tear of hellish red light split the air above them. Sharp cursed.

 _= Rerouting in progress =_

Sharp looked at the gate to the warp and his cardiac bionic seized up when he saw the warp stare back with countless eyes. _Come on, faster, faster!_

 _= Rerouting in progress =_

Sharp's mind turned to Tech-Priest Kyriz, and the pain he went through as he was devoured by the Daemon. Tech-Priest Kyriz: his superior, his mentor, his friend.

= Error = The look of horror on Kyriz's face and his distress of binary and static as he died said it all. Cardsharp may be a novice, but the tech-priest would not go out like that.

 _Analysis._

 _= Mechandrites offline. Servo-arm offline. Operational efficiency at 20.4%. Alert: System Failure. Rerouting in progress =_

Cardsharp took what he could get, moved his hand closer to the eradication ray. _Closer, closer._

"ARE YOU READY TO MEET YOUR NEW GOD?!" The major laughed with sadistic glee.

"No." Cardsharp grabbed the eradication ray and pointed it at the Chaos relic and pulled the trigger.

0o0o0o

The relic exploded in a wave of energy destroying the arm of the one that held it. Calig screamed in pain, his arm spraying blood across the ground. The warp tear sputtered and seizured, the creatures on the other side roaring in pain and outrage.

Calig will probably die from his wounds. Cardsharp what little satisfaction he could get before inevitably being shot at by the rest of the traitor Guardsman. But they did not shoot him, instead they screamed in horror as they were being lifted into the waning warp tear. The tech-priest would have laughed, but his vox was still damaged, and he felt himself being pulled as if gravity had reversed itself. _Oh damn._

 _= Alert: Unknown energy surge =_

"What have you done?!" Calig cried out. "You fool! YOU HAVE DOOMED US ALL?!"

Cardsharp wanted to rattle off a list of reasons how hypocritical that sounded, but he was more worried about being drawn into the Warp with the traitorous Guardsman.

= Alert: Servo-arm online =

 _Thank the Omnissiah,_ the tech-priest prayed. The mechanical servo-arm twirled and buzzed before finally locking onto a steel pipe that was embedded into the ground.

 _= Servo-arm locked: maximum tension =_

Cardsharp's ascent was abruptly halted and surge of relief filled his circuits. All the tech-priest had to do now was wait it out. Then he will re-join the main attack group.

"IF I'M GOING DOWN I'M TAKING YOU WITH ME!" Cardsharp's still damaged sensors saw Calig draw his Laspistol and aimed it directly at him. Before Cardsharp could respond, the traitor major fired. The laser penetrated through the tech-priest and damaged the servo-arm.

 _= Alert Damage Assessment: Servo-arm offline. Cardiac implant 1 damaged. Neural Relay 1 through 3 damaged =_

Amongst the pain, Cardsharp realised his ascent had resumed. Faster than before.

 _= Alert: System Failure =_

Cardsharp's mind whizzed through the possibilities, but nothing was viable.

 _= Alert: Unknown readings =_

The tech-priest realised the horrific conclusion as he was absorbed into the warp tear.

0o0o0o

The mechanical eyes, the ones not shot out or disabled were absorbing everything, every horrific and disturbing detail and transmitting it directly into Cardsharp's brain. His bionic heart, the last one still functioning was beating at an accelerated rate.

 _=Error=_

Tech-Priests are not the most imaginative group in the galaxy, but his mind wondered nonetheless as to what was about to happen. None of them good. Although he was sucked up, he had the distinct feeling of falling down.

Cardsharp could see monsters with thousands of mouths lined with millions of teeth screeching and roaring in hunger. Writhing tendrils of black essence shot out to snatch the tech-priest only to just miss him. Each time the mechanical adept wondered if should be grateful or unappreciative.

Many of the cursed soldiers, the traitors of the Imperium had no need to ponder. Cardsharp could see them below being snatched one by creatures unknowable dragging them screaming into a presumably horrible fate.

But not all of the: the tech-priest could detect the outline of Major Calig amongst the heretics. The traitorous heretic stared hatefully at Cardsharp with weapon in hand firing it wildly above hoping to kill the tech-priest before the beasts of the Warp take him.

The tech-priest did not want to die especially at the hands of Warp monstrosities, but he would be a fool to deny the situation. He was scared.

However, Tech-Priest Cardsharp was not willing to go down without a fight, his fate was sealed. All he could do was deny these Chaos creatures as long as he could, and hopefully commend his essence to the Omnissiah.

Cardsharp would indulge the treacherous meat sack; with the little strength and energy available Cardsharp fired his weapons back.

They continued into swirling abyss, the adept detecting their acceleration towards an unspecified point. Whatever it was, it meant this tumble through hell would be over soon enough.

But then something odd happened.

 _= Alert: Unknown readings. Brace for impact =_

There was a sudden shift in direction, as if Cardsharp was yanked by the scruff of his robes. Bright lights and the sound of screeching of metal against metal overloaded his auditory sensors. The tech-priest's visual sensors scrambled briefly in static, and when they cleared he was no longer in the Warp; no monsters, no warp essence, no imminent fear of being devoured by a Daemon.

… _thank the Omnissiah?_ Cardsharp mused.

But that did not necessarily the situation had improved. Instead Cardsharp was still falling precariously through the air, only this time he could clearly make out the ground beneath him a building of strangely gothic architecture surrounded by a rather small city.

 _= Alert: Brace for impact =_

And the last thing Cardsharp could recall was crashing through a glass skylight.

0o0o0o

I hope you liked it.

Read and review.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi Guys, thanks for the support.

And thanks again to Lord-of-Change for letting me do this.

I realise that each member of the Imperium has their own way of doing things and as most of you guessed, Tech-Priests have their own way of dealing with the 'undesirable' element.

Also at this stage, I know other iterations of this involve an alternate universe but I was thinking of making this a form of time travel. Please let me know what you think.

That being said here is chapter 2. I hope you like it.

Chapter 2

Selina Kyle was a wealthy woman, she did not need to steal. But she wanted to, for the sake of the hunt if nothing else. Everyone has that one _thing_ that gives them a rush whether it's art, sex, or travelling. For Catwoman it was theft, the art of taking something that did not belong to you.

Catwoman had standards of course, she did not rob anyone who could not afford it: the people who lived paycheck to paycheck, the middle class up to their ears in debt, good people just trying to get by. They were left alone.

Thankfully this was Gotham City, there were not many of those people. It was a city populated by the rich, greedy, corrupt and insane. Not necessarily in that order of course.

Case in point: Gotham Museum. This place of culture, was being used to commemorate a new exhibit. Some rich billionaire wacko recently died and they decided to take the opportunity to show off his amazing private collection: art, statues, rare manuscripts, one of a kind antiques… _jewels_. Apparently it was a private collection that could fill an entire wing of the Smithsonian _and_ the Louvre.

Surely he won't miss a few things, he _is_ dead after all.

Security was ridiculously light which was not really surprising; cutbacks were a thing in Gotham. All they had was a young nightwatchman reading a magazine instead of watching the cameras that barely worked; he wasn't even armed he just had a standard police baton and a radio.

Catwoman smiled under her mask as she climbed out of the ventilation into the exhibit below and slowly crept through the museum careful to avoid the security cameras and trip lasers.

 _They have not even bothered to change security methods. Ugh._ Selina focused as she located the room she was looking for. She dared to pull out the electronic scrambler in her back pocket but she had to check something.

1-1-1-1….1.

Beep. Click. The door opened.

 _Are you kidding me?_ Selina sighed. _They did not even change the door code?!_

Her annoyance was quickly curtailed by the sight of the room's contents; Selina Kyle was in thief heaven. The exhibit glowed under the moonlight emanating from the skylight above.

Sparkling emeralds and shined sapphire and perfectly cut diamonds, _oh my_. Catwoman grinned as she helped herself like a kid in a candy store.

This stuff was written as priceless but everything can be sold for a price on the black market, but that does not mean Selina won't keep a gem or two for her own private collection. She felt the sack become comfortably heavy before deciding it was time to call it quits. The last thing she wanted was the guard to show up or worse still Batman. _That being said, having him around might not be so bad after all._ _It would be fun to spend some 'quality time' together…_ Catwoman frowned _, unless that brat Robin shows up, then he's not fun whatsoever._

Then her eye caught something…

A beautiful blood red ruby the size of her fist stood out amongst the rare precious stones. Catwoman never beheld a colour so pure or so alluring. _Well maybe one more wouldn't hurt…._

The thief looked down at the setting to see if it had a name, as did all precious jewels. It had one:

' _The Eye of Chaos_ '

Selina picked up the ruby only to surprisingly realise it was encrusted with another stone; onyx or jasper she could not be sure. But it was strangely forged, eight points spreading out from the centre jewel; like a star. It was so black it seemed to drown out the light around the ruby.

 _Oh I am definitely keeping this._ Catwoman grinned as she allowed a finger to caress the centre jewel, it seemed to gleam brightly under her touch. The red gemstone glowed hypnotically as she gazed at her new prize. However, something seemed off and the thief's mind clicked back to reality, the precious collectable was actually _glowing_. She was actually _glowing_. The star shaped jewel emanated a red aura covering her form like a fine mist.

 _Uh oh_ , Catwoman tried to drop the collectable but her body would not obey her, as if she was paralysed. The red stone blinded her in bright light.

Then nothing.

The light vanished and the mist evaporated into nothing.

Selina blinked as she found herself in the exact same position she was in having full control over the movements. Catwoman was confused, one minute nothing, then red glowy stuff, then nothing. "Huh…that was weird."

Then the skylight above her crashed open.

0o0o0o

Seven human sized objects crashed through the glass ceiling screaming as they fell to an unpleasant heap on the floor. Small exhibits and glass breaking their fall.

Selina hit the floor on instinct when one of these monstrosities landed almost right on top of her. Her mind whizzed through the possibilities; SWAT, another heist, Joker being bored? It certainly wasn't Batman, he would never be that loud. So who was it?

Several of the forms began to groan and twitch standing up. Selina hid under a nearby table taking in the uninvited guests and they did not look friendly. They were draped in a greenish grey uniform that screamed military. But they looked like they just came out of a firefight; they were covered in dust, soil and something that looked blood. Their faces were scarred and ugly, covered in muck and eerily disturbing tattoos.

"We're alive!" One cried out. "The Chaos Gods have granted us their favour!"

"Where in the blasted Warp are we?!"

"Spread out!" The new arrivals began to break things and uplift furniture.

 _Uh oh, that does not sound good._ Catwoman sleeked across the floor careful not to make any noise, doing her best to keep out of sight, the _Eye of Chaos_ still in her hand. _I think it is time I made myself scarce._

0o0o0o

Cardsharp emitted a mechanical groan from his damaged vox.

 _=Alert Damage Assessment: Cranial damage, broken humerus and clavical. Neural relays 8 through 12 damaged =_

The Tech-priest's mind throbbed in pain at the sudden burst of information. Cardsharp was not alone.

 _= Alert: 6 targets detected =_

 _Six heretics came through the Warp tear with me._ Cardsharp frowned as his damaged auditory sensors picked up the heretics' inane ramblings.

' _Werealivethechaosgodshavegrantedustheirfavour'_

The Tech-priest attempted to stand, but his body flesh and metal alike would not comply.

 _=CRITICAL SYSTEM ALERT: Operational efficiency at 5.6% and falling. System crash in 10.76 minutes =_

 _That is not good_. Cardsharp murmured as the fatal information registered in his mind. Part of the Tech-Priest was surprised that his spark was not already extinguished with the amount of damage he has taken. Then again, he is not some Imperium grunt, a Tech-Priest is not bound by the weakness of flesh. His body was kicked over to its side, the perpetrator of the attack was Calig. "Well, well cog-boy seems Khorne truly smiles upon me today." He cackled as he looked to his men. "Find anything?"

"Nah, no one here." A heretic shrugged. "This place does not look that familiar. Where are we?"

"The Chaos Gods took favour on us." Calig smirked. "They spared us so we can continue their work. A planet ripe for corruption."

"Yes, but first we get to have a little fun." Calig grinned down at Tech-priest imagining the horrible things he could do the adept. The surviving heretics stranding around Cardsharp aiming their weapons at him with malice deciding how best to end his life.

Cardsharp had little in terms of defence; his two ballistic mechadendrites were damaged, his servo arm shot to pieces and most of his other defensive systems were back on _Titanfall_. His entire frame, both mechanical and biological were shredded with lasgun fire and KA63 and KA64 were missing.

But he did have his eradication ray, and he had his trusty Omnissian Power Axe.

The best part about all this is that the heretics: the stupid, _stupid_ heretics are now bunched up surrounding him and in striking distance. _Don't these idiots know that you should never get that close to a Tech-Priest of the Adeptus Mechanicus?_ Cardsharp snarked. _Activate_ _Skitarii Protocols._

 _=Warning: Sustained critical damage. Rerouting and Self-repair programs are priority=_

"What do you think?" A heretic asked, ignorant of the internal processes occurring within the fallen Tech-Priest.

 _Override priority._

= _Rerouting and Self-repair programs deactivated=_

= _Skitarii Protocols activated =_

 _=CRITICAL SYSTEM ALERT: Operational efficiency at 3.1% and falling. System crash in 4.14 minutes =_

"Nah," Calig sighed disappointed that he could not prolong the Adept's suffering, "we don't have the luxury. The Imperium has probably put all sectors on alert. We have to get out of here before those corpse-worshipping fools find us."

Cardsharp felt his body begin to buckle and die off with mechanical whirring. Death will be upon him soon, but if anything for the sake of his pride as a Tech-Priest of the Adeptus Mechanicus, Sharp had to take them down before they do more harm. _Overclock structural frame._

 _= Alert: Overclock will result in critical failure. Predicted length of functionality 1.25 minutes. Confirm command =_

"We'll have to make this quick." Calig placed the barrel of his lasgun against the Tech-priest's head. "Blood for the Blood God!"

Cardsharp blinked realising what will happen as a result of his actions, the human part of him…the weak part of him wanted to run. But the Adept inside him sneered at his own weakness and at Calig's presumption that a headshot would _kill_ a tech-priest. _Command confirmed._

 _= Overclock of structural frame authorised. Technical systems operating at 93%. Pain Inhibitors at 100% =_

 _=CRITICAL SYSTEM ALERT: System crash in 1.25 minutes and counting=_

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

 _Glory to the Omnissiah,_ Cardsharp finished the prayer. A surge of power flow through his body, his mind racing into overdrive. What seemed like one instant became precious seconds.

Time slowed…or rather Cardsharp sped up.

With five optical cameras he had a clear view of Calig's finger pulling the trigger of his lasgun, the look of malicious delight on his face. Cardsharp smirked at wiping that stupid grin off that face.

Despite a broken shoulder and arm he grabbed his Omnissian Power Axe with one hand and the eradication ray in the other and went to work.

 _=CRITICAL SYSTEM ALERT: System crash in 1.23 minutes =_

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

He swung the power axe right across Calig's lasgun redirecting the fire to a nearby heretic's leg.

Cardsharp aimed his eradication ray at a second solider and pulled the trigger, and in a bright flash of light the heretic vanished into red mist. Using his servomotors, the Tech-priest launched back to his feet and kicked Calig in the chest sending him hurtling through glass and wood.

 _= WARNING: Projectile target lock =_ Cardsharp briefly paused as he felt a lasgun aimed at the back of his head. "DIE YOU CORPSE-WORSHIPPING TOASTER!"

 _Idiots._

 _=Overloading Electro-grafts 5-10 =_

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

Before the third heretic had the opportunity to pull the trigger, one million volts of holy electricity shot through the epidermal layer of the tech-priest's skin and latched onto the closest foreign element.

The lasgun shattered under the weight of a lightning bolt travelling along its metal frame into the hands of its heretical wielder. _Forgive me Machine Spirit._ Cardsharp prayed silently. _May you find peace with the Omnissiah._

 _=CRITICAL SYSTEM ALERT: System crash in 1.18 minutes =_

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

Information travelled to his brain detailing how the two remaining dumbstruck heretics were slowly levelling their weapons at him.

Realigning his power axe, Cardsharp swung in through them severing them at the waist. They fell with slowing grace with a look of confusion and surprise on their faces.

Now for Calig. The Tech-Priest bent on fulfilling his oath to the Imperium, rounded on the last known position of the heretical leader.

 _=CRITICAL SYSTEM ALERT: System crash in 1.11 minutes =_

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

The Tech-priest's hunt was short lived when he was stabbed him the throat, sparks and electricity shot out of the wound like blood. _How in the name of the Machine Spirits did that happen?!_

 _=Alert Damage Assessment: Neural Relays 1 through 4 destroyed =_

 _= Calculating trajectory =_

An optical sensor zeroed in on the heretic, it was the one that was shot in the leg. _He must have hidden in a blind spot._

 _=WARNING: Significant damage sustained. Overclock Failure =_

 _= Alert Damage Assessment: Internal systems overheated. Operational Efficiency: 3.2% and falling=_

 _=CRITICAL SYSTEM ALERT: System crash in 0.58 minutes =_

Cardsharp's mind slowed to a crawl, his strength left him. He could feel both flesh and vital computer chips melt from the intense heat of the overclock.

 _= Alert: Incoming assault. Brace for impact =_

"You will not deny me my victory!" A heretic kicked the Power Axe out of Cardsharp's hand, "I have been chosen by the Dark Gods!" The punches that came rattled Cardsharp like a bag of blots, he could feel internal systems falling apart inside his on body.

 _=CRITICAL SYSTEM ALERT: System crash in 0.50 minutes =_

The tech-priest turned to face the final heretic grappling his hands, knife still embedded in his throat. Cardsharp tried to rip the treacherous soldier's arms out of their sockets and beat him to death with it, but the power escaped him, he has suffered too much damage.

"You can't do it." The treacherous guardsman laughed. "You're running on empty!"

 _=CRITICAL SYSTEM ALERT: System crash in 0.42 minutes =_

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

"You will be with your filthy Corpse-Emperor soon!"

Cardsharp fed power to the torch stored into his right digit. " _And you will be with your heretical Dark Gods right now._ "

A flame of roughly 2,000 degrees Celsius shot out of his hand and seared through the heretic's head and burst through the other side. Cardsharp was not the least bit satisfied, at that temperature chances are the heretic did not even feel the searing heat.

 _Thank the Omnissiah it's over._ Cardsharp allowed the body to hit the floor. _I did it Kyriz…I did it. Now I just have to deal with the major. No…wait._

=Scanning. _Targets: 0 =_

Calig was gone. _Oh no. No. No. No. No!_ _Segmentum must be warned._

 _= Deploying distress beacon =_

= _Skitarii Protocols deactivated =_

= _Rerouting and Self-repair programs activated=_

 _=CRITICAL SYSTEM ALERT: System crash in 0.30 minutes =_

Cardsharp's shoulders sagged in defeat. Calig escaped, and there was no way he can persue all that was left was to wait out the clock. But something was off, one of his optical sensor's tracked something _behind_ him.

 _= Alert: 2 targets inbound. Calculating trajectory=_

Cardsharp's reflexes were too damaged to intercept the threat. He slowly turned around to see the new arrival land.

The tech-priest analysed the new opponent, a strange human wearing all black armour with a yellow symbol on his chest. His frown was pronounced and his stance indicated he was ready for a fight. Next to him was a child wearing red and black jumpsuit and a cape, he looked less angry and more worried. They were not Chaos followers. At least none Cardsharp had ever seen.

 _=CRITICAL SYSTEM ALERT: System crash in 0.23 minutes =_

"Who are you?" The armoured man asked. Cardsharp tried to answer his question, but he felt his legs give out, making him lose balance. His vision short-circuited blinding his ability to see.

 _Segmentum had to be warned._ Cardsharp reaffirmed relaying precious energy to his vox. "Chaos is here. You are all in danger. Alert Segmentum Command." Cardsharp's voice croaked, "Be on the lookout for traitor guardsman Major Calig. Kill on sight."

The Tech-priest was not the least bit thrilled at the looks of confusion on their faces, clearly was being said was not being heard.

 _=CRITICAL SYSTEM ALERT: System crash in 0.12 minutes =_

"What's happening to him?" The young human asked.

"He's dying!" The armoured man shouted. It was the last thing Cardsharp saw before his final optical sensor shutdown. Cardsharp felt precious seconds tick by, but duty replaced fear, there was nothing he could do but commend his spark to the Omnissiah and pray he looks favourably upon him.

 _=CRITICAL SYSTEM ALERT: System crash in 0.09 minutes =_

 _'Dontworryweregettingyouhelpheycanyouhearme.'_

 _=CRITICAL SYSTEM ALERT: System crash in 0.01minutes =_

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

 _=CRITICAL SYSTEM ALERT: SYSTEM CRASH =_

 _=f8y9ry84h00IUHIHKHKDHFIHOEIu04u9eurgbu9f480BFJOID89390f0390!PJ)(!U)I_(UIJ$)H)(*#U)*U)R!H)*EFJIP#JR)UEFW)U)I#Jlfnwohf8wo9u3pjr9jf4w-09jd38h034g=_

 _=dhfoi3w08u(*(#h98fh98uy*(IGFNL(LUFp9w30jfwejk66^ &&#&82o0ij3_()U*(#HLNkvhfisyh3lP}{FES{KO*Y *6tnou4hi8y33=_

 _=Error=_

0o0o0o

Batman and Robin soared over the rooftops making a beeline for their target: Gotham Museum. With the amount of precious items open to view and the fact Gotham has the highest crime rate anywhere it was a only a question of when someone would try and make a play for it.

So Batman took the liberty of planting his own devices on top of Gotham Museum's 'basic' (read atrocious) security in place. Sure enough he got a hit, unsurprisingly it was Catwoman who decided to burgle the place.

"So what's the plan?" Robin asked as he kept pace.

"We go in make her put everything back." Batman growled.

"That it?" Robin raised a brow. "I swear you coddle that one too much."

"Catwoman has done good things for the city, more so than bad." Batman explained as they finally settled on the top of the museum his protégé in tow. "Besides she's just a thief, compared to the rest of people we have to deal with she's a downright saint."

Robin stared silently at Batman for what seemed like forever.

"Boy you have got it _bad_ for her, don't you?" Robin chuckled. "Why don't you just ask her out?"

"Business Robin. _Mind it_." Bruce was grateful his mask hid his embarrassment.

"Yeah, yeah, okay." Robin held up his hands in surrender "All I'm saying is-"

"Blood for the Blood God!"

 _BZZAP!_ There was a scream and the sounds of fighting.

"DIE YOU CORPSE-WORSHIPPING TOASTER!"A man cried out before being drowned by the sound of what could only be described as _lightning_. Years of training immediately kicked in as both vigilante's crouched down and quickly made it to the top of the roof, zeroing in on the broken skylight.

They heard the voices coming from the room below. They saw a group of four men in military issue uniforms lying dead on the floor still holding weapons that were not of any make and model Batman had seen, and he knew all of them. There was _blood_ everywhere. Two of them looked cleaved in half.

At the centre of the bloodbath stood two individuals: a man of a similar attire as those that have fallen and a sixth whose form was obscured by its long flowing red robe. "You will not deny me my victory!" the soldier screeched, "I have been chosen by the Dark Gods!"

Whatever their quarrel, they seemed dedicated to killing in each other. And the red-robed warrior seemed to be losing. _I have to stop this_. Batman nodded at Robin to get their smoke bombs ready.

"You can't do it." The soldier laughed. "You're running on empty! You will be with your filthy Corpse-Emperor soon!"

The red-robed warrior groaned out something in a mechanical voice. " _And you will be with your heretical Dark Gods right now._ " And fire erupted from the warrior's hands, burning the man's skull clean and all.

"Holy _shit_..." Robin gazed in horror. "What do we do?"

Batman's eyes narrowed at the warrior's posture and form, he was bleeding and his movements were sluggish. However he killed the solider took the last of his strength. "Follow me."

Batman landed behind the warrior with Robin in tow. The warrior turned to stare at them a grisly blade sticking out of his throat at an odd angle. His face was obscured by a mask encompassing the lower part of his face, the upper part shrouded by the hood itself. Though Batman could clearly make out several red lights boring into him from the shroud. Whatever this thing was it was not human.

However, the warrior did not attack, that seemed to be a good sign. Batman was not so accommodating, people are dead. " _Who are you?_ "

The red-robed sputtered a combination of electricity and black ooze which smelt like motor oil. It began to shift and sway uncontrollably. The warrior fell onto its back, as if its legs suddenly stopped working. " _Chaos - - - -danger-Seg—tum -._ " The warrior's voice fizzled and cracked distorting his words in static, _"—lookout - traitor - Cal-_ "

 _A warning or a threat?_ Batman glanced to Robin giving him the sign to call the Watchtower. _Could he be an ally?_

"What's happening to him?" Robin asked. Batman gazed at the cyborg and began to notice the numerous incalculable holes and wounds along its body. Black liquid oozed from the holes along with the unmistakable colour of blood, his breathing was slowing…

 _Oh, no._ "He's dying!"

Batman came closer and tried to get the armour off, but it would not budge, and this 'thing' was too heavy to move by himself. "Don't worry, we're going to get you help."

He reached for the robe and pulled back to reveal something that both horrified and surprised him. He was a human cyborg, his left eye was normal but his right eye was replaced with dozens of glowing red cables twitching around like dancing insects. A large calibre graze was along the side of his head revealing skull, blood and metal.

The lights body began to flicker and sputter, his left eye began to close. "Hey! Can you hear me?!" The lights became dim and the breathing finally stopped.

 _Dammit, another death._ Batman cursed his hands briefly searching the body. _Wait a minute, there's something…a pulse?_ The Dark Knight could not be sure, it looked human but he could not confirm that for sure. Regardless he could feel something beating rhythmically in the warrior's chest. It was faint but it was there. He could hear the sound of police sirens closing in, and Batman was not keen to have to explain what happened here, not when there were too many unknown variables.

"He's alive but barely." Batman took action. "Robin, contact the Watchtower. We need an emergency medical evacuation now! Contact Victor, I think they will need his help."

0o0o0o

Catwoman could hear the firefight erupt long after she left. Selina decided to take a break on a rooftop after three blocks.

She was not too concerned, the guard maybe have been reading but not even he could have ignored those sounds; she heard the sounds of sirens in the distance.

Besides, as Selina took off she could make out the distinct shape of a rather large and angry bat on top of the museum. _Well if he's there then there is no need to fret._

She reached into her backpack and took another look at the prize, _The Eye of Chaos_. The red ruby encased in a black star. It was _beautiful_. She would sell every one of the jewels for a hefty sum. _But this,_ she smiled, _this I'm going to keep._

The ruby seemed to glint in the moonlight with a hypnotic grace.

 _Well hello gorgeous_ , she grinned. Whether it was a hallucination or a trick of light she could have sworn the gem winked at her.

0o0o0o

Minutes later they were teleported into the medical bay of the Justice League Watchtower, the most advanced medical facility on or near planet Earth. Victor Stone, the famed 'Cyborg' was already there. There was not much in terms of staff, but then again Leslie Tompkins was a 'teleport' away and she was the only person apart from Alfred Batman would trust his life to.

Their latest patient, was the strange dying cyborg composed of unknown technology who desperately tried to communicate something, whether it be a warning or a threat.

They had their work cut out for them.

Minutes and hours passed and Tompkins could only promise that it would not be over soon.

Batman was not so patient, and asked to be transported to his own personal lab along with the bodies and equipment of the five men who died along with whatever else was with them.

The entire League were on alert and anxious of the arrival of their unexpected guest. J'onn J'onzz and Clark Kent kept a watchful eye on the skies, careful for any unusual activity or signs of an invasion.

Wonder Woman and Aquaman contacted their respective kingdoms for any disturbances whether it be magical or otherwise. Princess Diana relayed to the League that there was a strange burst of unknown energy in Gotham but it was little more than a blip.

Black Canary and Green Arrow were in Gotham hoping to discern and further clues while Hal Jordan made contact with the Green Lantern Corps for any recent galactic criminal activity.

The lack of any solid lead was not at all comforting.

It was only after a day of constant surgery and transfusions did Doctor Tompkins finally walked out of the medical lab, her eyes betraying her fatigue and her shaky hands revealing her stress.

"Doctor you okay?" Flash asked.

"I'm fine Flash." Her answer was not reassuring. "Tell Batman that the patient will live."

"Doc I don't know how you do it." The speedster smiled.

Tompkins scoffed. "I expect chocolate and a _very_ good bottle of wine for this."

"I got ya." Flash vanished and reappeared in a gust of wind, chocolate in hand. "How about I meet you halfway?"

"I knew there was a reason I always liked you." Tompkins smiled weakly.

Flash chuckled. "I'll let Batman know."

"Do that." The doctor greedily bit into the chocolate. "Tell him he's probably not going to like what he hears."

0o0o0o

Well gang, there you go. Hope you like it.

I'll probably get into a more detailed description of Cardsharp in the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Well guys here you go.

Thank you for the wonderful feedback.

I realise Chaos may be overdone but I will resolve it in the next couple of chapters.

This will be the last chapter for 2015.

I hope you all enjoy it.

Chapter 3

Time is relative.

When you are bored, time slows to a crawl.

Conversely time flies when you are having fun.

Catwoman was having the time of her life and there was no end to the fun in sight. She never felt so _alive_. So… _anything_.

Selina Kyle's age was a closely guarded secret known only to a few. But she felt significantly younger, healthier… _sexier_. It was everything she could have dreamed of and more. And with Batman being strangely absent…well you know the saying; when the _cat_ is away…

She did not precisely understand why, all she knew felt she could do anything, go anywhere and no one could stop her. She did not even need to rest, she has been burgling rich establishments since that fiasco at Gotham Museum without pause or rest. She kept going…and going…and going. But to steal so much so quickly…it was exhilarating. Long has she been fatigued with her lot in life, but ever since with she discovered the Eye of Chaos she has discovered renewed interest for the sport and love of the game. If someone paid her a billion dollars not to steal she would have to turn it down…and then find a way to steal said billion dollars from them. _How long could I go? When will it be enough?_

 _ **Oh silly girl, it will never be enough.**_ The Eye of Chaos gleamed. _**You want it all, and rightly so.**_

Right now she was busy plucking the last wad of cash from the safe of a rich billionaire by the name of Simon Stagg; a scumbag industrialist that could put Roman Sionis to shame.

"Oh my, I have not had this much fun in years." Catwoman smiled as she hefted the heavy sack filled with a sizeable haul. "I keep this up I'll have to expand my fun to Metropolis."

 _ **Sounds like fun.**_ The jewel gleamed. Catwoman kept the Eye of Chaos on her person wherever she went, she did not understand how, but she knew the precious ruby was responsible for her newfound energy.

"Who the hell are you?!" A voice called. "What the hell are you doing in my house?!"

Selina spun around. _Damn, Simon was supposed to be in California. What is he doing here?_

Sure enough the diminutive little slime ball was standing here his face red with anger. "Sorry Stagg, but I heard on the grapevine your safe is supposed to be uncrackable." Catwoman grinned. "I just had to see it for myself."

"You bitch!" Stagg reached for something hidden under a coffee table, did not have to guess what.

 _Oops, time to make myself scarce._ Catwoman jumped out the window. _Now I might a run to the lower west side. I hear Two-Face has a nice stash of art._

 _ **But if Stagg calls the authorities or warns associates won't it make your stealing spree that much more difficult.**_

 _That is true, but what else can I do?_

 _ **Tell me my dear, have you ever ended a life?**_

 _Of course not!_ Catwoman blinked in abject horror.

 _ **And why is that Selina, is it because of morals? Trust me my dear, such things are left in the history books.**_

 _It is wrong._ Catwoman glanced at the Eye.

 _ **Oh please don't tell me the thought of watching the life drain from someone's eyes does not turn you on?**_

The thought did cross here mind, that is what worried her. _Oh Batman would have my head on a pike._

 _ **Oh you mean Bruce Wayne the boy with severe trust issues?**_ The Eye gleamed. _**Since when do you are about the opinions of a loser who had the gall never to truly return your affections.**_

That's not true, I –

 _ **Forget about the child who dresses as a bat.**_ The emerald glinted. _**Trust me my dear when I say I just want you to enjoy yourself. And I'm sure your mother told you to try new things.**_

 _Well I…_ In the back of Catwoman's mind, she was wondering how precisely a jewel was talking to her inside her own head, but it felt as if her head was being guided, no dragged in another direction…a very pleasant direction. _But…it can't…this can't be right._

 _ **Oh please my dear, would I ever lie to you?**_ _**New experiences are all the rage these days. Surely you wouldn't just like to try it if not just once.**_

 _Well I guess…_ Catwoman smiled as she turned back to the Stagg's mansion. _Maybe just once. But if I don't like it…_

 _ **Of course my dear, but you should be quick about it. You can and will be expecting company, very, very soon.**_

0o0o0o

The founders of the League gathered around their new guest, along with Black Canary, Green Arrow and newcomer Captain Marvel. Their new arrival, this red robed cyborg that dropped unceremoniously into the middle of Gotham Museum cause quite a stir amongst the league.

Because of the bulk of the red-robed warrior, they had to specifically modify the medical facility to accommodate. Rather than resting on his back, he was placed on a modified gurney capable of moving on any axis. Right now he was placed vertically with his face down the red robe covering him for the sake of decency. On the back wall was a table with countless series of wiring, tubes and mechanical contraptions that it became a lot less surprising why Batman could not lift him. "To save his life we had to get through his machine components." Tompkins gestured to the strange looking mechanical monstrosities on the bench behind her. "It's not easy, I had to resort of an axel grinder and lasers to get half this stuff off."

"So is he going to be alright Doctor?" Superman asked.

"Yes, he will be fine." The good doctor nodded. "But he has undergone extensive damage. I'm surprised he is still alive. Regardless it will take time, we will need to repair the machine part of him before he is back to 100%. Whatever that was."

"So he is a cyborg." Batman confirmed. "Can you walk us through it?"

"He's a cyborg alright. Victor and I both agree that he was born human and upgraded with cybernetics." Tompkins' eyes darkened. "But there is a bit more, our guest here is a child."

"What?" The more empathetic members such as Black Canary paled.

"Yeah." Tompkins frowned. "About 15 years old and he has undergone more trauma than I have ever seen, and that is not taking into account his cybernetic enhancements."

"How much damage did he take?" Aquaman asked, slightly wary of the news, his protégé and surrogate son Kaldur'ahm was about the cyborg's age.

Tompkins peeled back the red robe to reveal their guest. All they could see was his back, but it was horrific sight on its own. Most of the flesh and tendon had been peeled away to reveal the entire spine of a human being. Metal wiring stuck out of part of the human nervous system as if forcefully jammed in by an angry technician. Captain Marvel turned an unpleasant shade of green before running off, presumably to find a bathroom.

"If I go through each injury I will be here all day, and I'm too tired." Tompkins sighed. "All I can say is that he sustained a nasty stab wound to the neck and at least forty shots from some kind of high energy weapon, burned holes clean through him. Most of it was to the chest and arms but some of the hits were to the head."

"You said he was human, how could he have survived a shot to the head?" Flash bawked at the massive bloody contusion along the side of the cyborg's head.

Stone pressed a series of buttons and the modified bed began to tilt, turning their guest's face up. Out of revulsion and horror Flash quickly disappeared presumably following Marvel's example. There they saw, clear as day was the man's face…or rather boy. He was child with smooth skin and a shaved head. His face was almost unmarked except for his right eye which contained a variety of small red wiring and something along the top of his scalp that looked like surgical scars. The left side of his head had a very nasty graze burning is flesh, but they could clearly see bone and beneath that was something _that_ looked eerily like metal.

The rest of him looked like he was ripped open, and it was like looking into a foreign life from. The boy's right arm was completely removed, a series of wires sticking out of his shoulder. His left arm was still human but his little and ring digits were removed. The legs were severed from the knees down, black tubes bulged out of his skin and sticking out of the limbs. His ribcage was exposed to the elements, but there was not real evidence of traditional organs. Just a series of endlessly spawned cables and computer lights blinking erratically.

"In answer to Flash's question. The reason a headshot is fatal is because the brain is destroyed. But his brain is not in his head." Leslie tapped at the ribcage. "It's here. Somebody, moved his brain out of his skull and put it in his chest and encased it in this membrane."

The observers took a closer look and sure enough, they could see a human brain floating in a transparent casing nestled between the lungs or at least that is what the League hoped they were. The brain itself looked normal but the outer layer it was laced and spliced with mechanical objects.

"What's that?" Superman pointed.

"That," Tompkins followed his finger to clear casing just below the brain, "is a secondary membrane, albiet empty. I haven't figured that out yet."

"Is he in pain?" Black Canary looked up in concern.

"He's not suffering," Tompkins smiled reassuringly, "he is unconscious. He's not feeling anything."

"If his brain is there, what is in his head?" Green Arrow dared to ask but he swore if the doctor started opening that part up, he was going to vomit as well. He is barely holding on as is.

"Probably the most advanced sensory equipment I have ever seen." Victor scratched his head. "I still have not figured it out. All I can tell you is those little red cables are some kind of advanced micro cameras."

"Most of his digestive tract was removed." Tompkins explained. "It was replaced with a series of processors that function as a stomach. The waste is either recycled or ejected through a tube located in the back of his right ankle."

"He has skin, and bone and muscle though it is weak from years of disuse. He has liver and lungs, both of which are encased in some kind of bio-alloy of some sort. The kidneys and spleen were removed and replaced with some kind of mechanical substitute."

"What is that?" Green Arrow pointed at the scarred and pulsating white orb.

"That is his heart. Bionic in nature." Victor noted. "One of three."

" _Three hearts_ …" Hal repeated. "Where are the other two?" Green Lantern got his answer when Victor pointed to two similar looking devices on the table both with very large holes in them.

"They don't work in tandem. All vital organs have several redundant backup systems in place." Tompkins shrugged. "This makes him tough. So tough in fact that he was almost blasted to pieces and still he survived."

"And allowed him to take down six armed men in a few seconds." Batman finished. "No human could survive that much damage. The cybernetics saved his life."

Black Canary turned to Victor. "How much of him is machine?"

"Not a much as you would think. About 80% of my body was replaced with cybernetics." Cyborg looked closely at some components on a nearby table. "Taking into account his organic components is closer to about 40%, possibly 50%. Most of the cybernetics were external…I'm still working out the details. This technology is beyond me."

"Who has this kind of technology?" Wonder Woman asked.

"No one." Batman replied.

"He's right." Victor nodded. "I'm pretty switched on with technological break throughs legal and otherwise, nothing like this has come up. Not even close."

"I can confirm that no one under Green Lantern surveillance has this kind of technology." Hal pondered.

"Come on someone has to have seen something like this." Green Arrow shook his head in disbelief.

"Oliver," Victor held up a microchip that was no bigger than his thumb. "This chip right here as the ability to run the entire Watchtower by _itself_ , it can regulate the power consumption of the entire Western seaboard of the United States. I don't even know how he powers himself, there is no evidence of batteries or reactor. There is no technology like this."

"Perhaps not _now_." Batman chose his words carefully. "But what about in the _future_."

"Are you suggesting…?"

"When you have excluded the impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable must be the truth." Batman allowed the words to hang ominously in the silent medical chamber.

"You just ripped off Sherlock Holmes." Oliver chuffed. Green Arrow, next to the Flash always had a talent for making levity of the situation. "Are you honestly suggesting our guest is a time-traveller?"

"Well I have not excused the possibility of another dimension." Batman ignored the jibe. "Anything is possible."

"You're joking, right?" Diana raised a brow.

"I never joke." Batman looked up at the good doctor. "Can you wake him up Leslie?"

"I can." Tompkins frowned. "I would not recommend it though. His biological components need time to recover, and even then he needs a majority of his cybernetics to function."

Victor started fiddling with items along the table. "That will take time."

"If you did it now?"

"Majority of cognitive function." Victor mulled it over in his head. "He won't be able to move around much, he'll be partially blind and I am not so sure about communication. His voice box was replaced with a series of electronic relays and there is a big knife shaped hole in them."

"Bruce he needs to rest." Superman groaned. "It would be cruel to wake him up in this state."

"We need to get him to talk." Batman narrowed at the unconscious form in front of them. "He seemed desperate to relay something. We need to know what it is."

Victor and the good doctor exchanged looks. "Give me a few hours, let me see if I can get some of his systems off the ground."

"Do it."

0o0o0o

….

….

….

 _= Error: System Failure. Elapsed time: 31.342 standard hours since last operation =_

 _= Status: System Check =_

 _= Power: Green =_

 _= Life Support: Green =_

 _= Sensors: Green =_

 _= Adeptus Mechanicus Database v.0 084 999.M41: Green =_

 _= Organic Mental Relay: Green =_

 _= System Integrity: Sufficient =_

 _= System Restart =_

Cardsharp jolted awake as if recovering from a nightmare. It was so cold, freezing in fact. _Raise internal core temperature._

 _= Negative. Internal thermostat offline =_

It was eerily quiet, the sounds of his internal processors clicking and beeping were absent. He normally did not notice them, but now that they are not there…it was uncomfortable.

 _= Sensors at 15%. Status: Activating Optic 001 and 002 =_

The Tech-Priest's eyes flickered back online, scanning the room in a variety of spectrums. He was lying on a bed in a bright sterile room: a hospital. It was so unlike the mechanical bays he was used to, it was unnerving.

The Tech-Priest immediately locked onto the sole occupant. A male with cybernetics looked down, a look of relief on his face. Cardsharp took a moment to appreciate this man, his cybernetics were smooth and sleek encompassing a majority of his body crafting him out of white and silver. It was obvious the construction of the cybernetic shell was designed to keep the man as 'humanoid' as possible. A light scan noted significant obsolete, yet incredibly well maintained cybernetics but were not of a make and model Cardsharp had seen.

 _Not Adeptus Mechanicus sanctioned…must be custom built._ Cardsharp mused. _Still a fellow cyborg is reassuring._ The Tech-Priest beeped out a short burst of binary and static detailing a greeting, his name, rank, serial number his assignment on Subsector Marxian, how everything got screwed over by Major Calig who sent them hurtling into a Warp tear and now he is on the run on this planet.

The man smiled politely yet confused. _Hmmm…not fluent in_ _Lingua-technis_ _._ Cardsharp's eye narrowed in on the man. _Where in the name of the Omnissiah am I?_

"It's okay." The man said placing a cool hand of the Tech-Priest's shoulder. "My name is Victor Stone. Can you understand me?"

"Yes." Cardsharp's vox fizzled, his throat tickled with unregulated electricity.

"Hmm. I'll have to fix that." Victor nodded gently tugging on the Tech-Priest's shoulder. "Do you have a name?"

 _No_ _Lingua-technis,_ the Tech-Priest remembered. "I am Cardsharp."

"Well Cardsharp, can you sit up for me?"

Cardsharp tried, and to his great irritation it was surprisingly difficult. The cybernetics in his body were either offline or operating at low power. So he consequently had to use muscles, real flesh to sit forward. Whether it be atrophy or just the weakness of flesh it hurt like hell. "Where am I?"

"You're in the Justice League Watchtower." Stone explained. "You were badly hurt when we found you. But you're okay now."

' _Justice League'? Never heard of it, must be some new division._ Then Cardsharp realised that he was lying on a bed, which considering his cybernetics would not be feasible. Tech-Priests generally slept in a standing state suspended by overhanging metal supports.

 _Come to think of it, despite the pain, I do feel incredibly light._ Cardsharp's eye's widened. _Wait…_

"Where are my mechandrites?" Cardsharp stared unblinking at Stone.

"You were critically damaged." Victor soothed. "It was not easy to help you, we had to remove a few of your internal subsystems and metal exoskeleton."

" _Removed?_ " Cardsharp was horrified. _Initiate full scan._

 _= Status: Scanning all internal systems =_

 _= Mechandrites: 839fh2eJJJWS ERROR =_

 _= Mobility: o#(OY(*O#HF;oo9IHSDF#W)9u_#jhf073wlslahoiHOA#(*U)(FLAK) ERROR=_

 _= Internal Systems: O9u0r3wuf093u0(#JpM((4jfoie-kabiciya;0028-2ANXA) ERROR =_

 _= Mind Impulse Unit S/N 902390u309u34109ue: Error =_

 _= Structural Frame: hjklja(20*(U )*YRL! _!_)ERROR-FL#KJND)W(EuA_(# OIHSAP_( #)) =_

Cardsharp ripped the sheet covering him and there he saw it. _What in the name of the Omnissiah is this?!_ His armour and external metal plating was removed to reveal his internals.

 _Omnissiah preserve me._ The Tech-Priest's flesh and most vital cybernetic components were exposed, and _someone_ had taken the liberty of removing half of his subsystem nano-chips.

 _= CRITICAL WARNING: PRODUCT VIOLATION. UNSANCTIONED TAMPERING OF ADEPTUS MECHANICUS PROPERTY=_

"You _heretek_." Cardsharp reached out with his left hand to try and gouge the eyes out of this Victor Stone hoping to inflict some kind of pain.

But Stone was mostly machine, he did not suffer the weakness of flesh. He caught Cardsharp's hand with ease and grace. "Take it easy! Take it easy!" Stone tried to smooth over the situation. The injured boy struggled nonetheless. "Look I know you're upset. I would be too if someone started messing around with my components. But trust me when I say there was _no other way_. You would have _died_ if we did nothing. We had to remove some of your cybernetics to save you."

The boy's eye narrowed, the strange spindly red wires seemed to twist and writhe like small snakes. After the longest time, the boy's hand went limp. "I will accept your version of events. For now."

"Thanks I-"

"But I want all my components back regardless of their condition." Cardsharp spoke. "And I want them back _now_."

"Okay I'll get on it." Victor tried to reassure his fellow cybernetic colleague, but deep down he was not sure he could deliver. Batman already requisitioned some of Cardsharp's equipment, and the Dark Knight was not known for _sharing_. "It will tak-"

"Enough talk." Cardsharp waved away whatever explanation he would give, it was not a priority. "Chaos is here. This entire planet is in danger. Contact Segmentum Command for reinforcements. You must kill the traitor guardsman Major Calig at all costs."

"Chaos?" Victor blinked several times processing the information. "What's that?"

" _You don't know what Chaos is?_ " Cardsharp croaked. "What kind of backwater system am I on?"

"Well-"

"It doesn't matter." Cardsharp tried to crawl out of the bed, his body burning in pain. "Put all sectors on alert. Contact the Imperial Guard for reinforcements."

"I'm sorry the Imperial what?"

"Who in all the Warp are you?" Cardsharp glared; someone claiming to not know Chaos… _maybe_. But someone claiming to not know the Imperial Guard…now that is just fanciful. "Where _am_ I? What subsector am I in? What Segmentum?!"

"Listen Cardsharp," Victor held his hands up, "you need to calm down. It took a long time to get your voice up and running. Yelling could disable it."

"Your attempts at levity do not amuse me."

"Cardsharp, I am taking what you are saying very seriously. You claim the planet is in danger, I believe you." Victor soothed. "But you have to believe me when I say I do not know what you are talking about. Please explain it to me."

"I am from Subsector Marxian in Segmentum Ultima; from the centre of a Chaos incursion. There are billions dead." Cardsharp crackled. "I was dragged through a Warp tear with a Chaos follower, Major Calig. If you do not call for reinforcements _now_ , what happened in Marxia will happen here. You need to contact the Imperial Guard _._ "

"I'm sorry but I don't know what the Imperial Guard is." Victor shrugged apologetically.

 _Omnissiah save me, what do I do? Think, think…._ Cardsharp blinked an idea. "Do you at least have a Planetary Defence Force?"

"Well we have the Justice League. They deal with international and galactic threats." Victor raised a brow. "Do they count?"

"They will have to do." Cardsharp threw the sheet off them. "Take me to them. _Now._ "

0o0o0o

While Victor Stone was busy trying to get their new 'friend' back online, Batman passed the time getting his own answers.

Deep in the Batcave, Bruce Wayne was analysing all the evidence he found at Gotham Museum; it was a nightmare to convince Jim Gordon to go along with it. The good Commissioner was kind enough to provide Batman the details of the recently deceased found in the museum and once again the detective's suspicions proved correct, the five bodies in the morgue were not in any database foreign or domestic. They did not exist.

Bruce redoubled his efforts with the weapons the red-robed warrior had on him. The technology was fascinating to say the least.

"So what have you got?" Batman turned to see the curious faces of the Flash, Superman and Black Canary.

"I haven't quite figured that out yet," Batman did not even turn around to face his colleagues, "I have deduced some things. But they are just theories at this point."

"Such as?"

"Judging from the residue he was in a huge firefight." Batman moved over to the table examine the strange red robes on it. "Based on the analysis and the standardised clothing and weaponry, I've concluded it is a uniform. A soldier perhaps."

"A soldier?" Black Canary blinked. "But he's just a kid." The thought of a child solider made her want to vomit; what kind of society would subject children to that?

"I can tell you little else," Batman continued, "this equipment is advanced. This rifle here," Batman picked up the rifle that matched him in height, "is come kind of high-temperature plasma weapon."

"What about this?" Superman reached for the snub-nosed weapon at the end of the table.

"Wait don't touch that!" Bruce snapped, Superman jerked his hand back. " _That_ ," Batman glared, "is some kind of specialised particle beam weapon. It is very dangerous, even to you Clark."

"What does it do?"

"It disintegrates objects on a sub-molecular level." Batman moved the glowing weapon further away from their reach. "In essence it eradicates any person including residue off the face of the earth."

"Geezus." Flash rubbed his head.

"It has its down side though." Batman gently handled the weapon and placed it on the other side of the room, far from curious hands. "It has the range and peripheral of a standard 12 gauge shotgun. Clearly this thing was meant to be used in close encounters."

"And that?" Flash pointed.

"Ah," Batman turned to look at the long blunt shaped instrument, "that is a bit of a paradox. It has the functions of a weapon, but could also be some kind of tool, like a wrench."

"That's a wrench?" Flash gawked at the thing that was taller than any of the people in the cave. "Do I even want to know what the nuts and bolts look like?"

"It is some kind of powered or reinforced weapon, its function is obvious." Batman shook his head. "When I try to use it, it does nothing, my guess it will only recognise its wielder."

"Anything else?"

"Yes, I asked Victor to run a carbon dating scheme. Biologically, our guest is no older than 15 years of age. But some machine parts in him are old, a few hundred years old judging from the carbon dating. His organic components are human but his blood isn't; it is some kind of hyper-oxygenated synthetic hybrid. It makes his body over a thousand times more efficient to recover from injuries and makes him impervious to all forms of disease. I wouldn't be surprised if it could withstand biological and chemical weapons."

"Wow, that would be handy." Black Canary blinked in awe. She refused to believe it, but it led credence to the concept that the boy in the room was a warrior of some kind; a warrior with specialised healing abilities would be a huge asset in the field.

"For him, it breaks down as soon as it leaves the body." Batman frowned. "I can't replicate it and believe me I tried."

"Oh god, what are those?" Flash gasped.

Batman turned again to locate the speedster, he was standing over two large….things. One was a weapon the other was some kind of tracking robot. Both of them were helmeted by a human skull and sustained notable damage. "Mobile weapon platforms of some sort. They travel using anti-gravitational technology, they seem to work in conjunction with our friend."

"But skulls…"

"Yes, they're human too." Batman frowned. "I am not comfortable with how or why they came to be like this."

"It seems our guest has a lot of questions that need answering." Superman grimly noted.

"I think you're going to get your wish." Black Canary clicked closed a communicator. "Our guest has awoken and he is very cranky."

0o0o0o

Well guys there you go.

Remember every review is a pleasant offering to the Omnissiah.

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays) and a Happy New Year.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey fellas, Happy New Year.

Hope you guys had a great holiday.

Well here is the new Chapter. Thanks a lot for your input guys; especially Mark Twain II LoL, much appreciated.

For a few scenes coming up, I recommend listening to Heresy Detection Terminal by Gunner on Youtube. Trust me you will know it when you see it.

Chapter 4

"Where is this 'Batman'?" Cardsharp barked impatiently. "And what is taking so long with reintegrating my arm?" The adept whose only form of decency was a medical robe and sheet hastily wrapped around his waist glared at Cyborg who was trying his best to reattach his arm.

"Look I'm sorry Cardsharp, but I'm not familiar with this tech." The 'man' called Cyborg hastily apologised. The Tech-Priest was stunned at his candour; no calibration of wiring, no electrical surge protection, no respect, no prayers, no incense. There was no faith in the man's actions. It was borderline tech-heresy.

Cyborg should consider himself lucky, Cardsharp was just a lowly Enginseer, newly baptised by the Adeptus Mechanicus a mere eight months ago; subsector Marxian was his first engagement. Now if he was instead say, a veteran Rune-Priest such a Tech-Priest Kyriz, well let's just say this so called Victor Stone would be known merely as 'Servitor' by the end of the day.

But Kyriz was not here, and Cardsharp was not entirely comfortable throwing such an accusation when he is just a mere novice, especially to someone who is trying to help him. Trying and failing _dismally_ mind you.

In the end it did not matter, between Stone and someone called 'Doctor Tompkins' they did a horrendous and humiliating job of removing substantial amounts of Cardsharp's internal systems. He was quite literally naked _and_ at their mercy, it was only by the grace of the Omnissiah that he can still walk. During their so called 'rescue surgery' the removed one of the internal cogitators in his shoulder that regulated his balance. He figured that out after trying to get out of bed and landing face first on the cold hard floor. It was only by pure dumb luck that they attached his mechanical legs before they reactivated him.

Cardsharp stifled a groan as he felt Stone cause another surge in his shoulder circuitry with his clumsiness.

 _++ Oh Omnissiah save me from this idiot ++_ It was considered poor form to speak Lingua-Technis in front of the unenlightened, but who cares it's not like he understands anyway. To the uninitiated, the holy language of Mars sounded like a variety of quick mechanical beeps and clicks, that is not taking into account the ultrasonic and low frequency carrier waves which were beyond human hearing.

 _ **++ You do not need to speak so harshly of Victor Stone. He is quite capable and is trying his best to help you. ++**_ Cardsharp zeroed in on the transmission. He saw with his optics a metallic humanoid, his armour was painted holy red laden with yellow trim and draped with a blue cape; perhaps his Forge World's primary colours.

 _++ You speak Lingua-Technis? ++_ Cardsharp burst.

 _ **++ If you are asking if I understand you, then yes ++**_

 _++ Oh thank the Omnissiah in all His glory. Finally a glint of civilisation ++_ Cardsharp's fourteenth internal processor hummed in relief; he had never seen anyone quite like him, but not all sects of the Cult of Machine are the same, perhaps the newcomer was a seasoned veteran. Cardsharp could not detect a shred of organic left; it was admirable to behold such dedication to the cause. _++ I was beginning to think I was the only cyborg loyal to the Cult of the Machine on this backwater planet ++_

 _ **++ I'm afraid to disappoint you ++**_ The red metal behemoth transmitted. _**++ Unfortunately I am not familiar with your religion. Additionally I am not a cyborg, I am a robot ++**_

Cardsharp blinked, and his mind both human and machine ground to a halt. _++ …what? ++_

 _= Status: Analysing statement. Running Heuristic Algorithms =_

 _ **++ I said - ++**_

 _++ I heard what you said, I just do not understand ++_ Cardsharp clicked in static. _++ What do you mean 'robot'? ++_

 _ **++ Forgive me, my name is Red Tornado ++**_ The red machine nodded slightly. _**++ I am a robot and a member of the Justice League ++**_

 _Oh Omnissiah please no. It can't be._ Cardsharp's bionic heart sped up in anticipation. _++ …are you saying you are an A.I? ++_

 _ **++ Correct. I am an Artificial Intelligence ++**_

 _= Status: Analysis Complete =_

 _= CRITICAL WARNING: Criteria for Abominable Intelligence satisfied. Tech-Priest protocols suspended =_

 _= Status: Red Alert. Skitarii Protocols Activated =_

Klaxon alarms rang inside Cardsharp's mind, his cybernetics activating by themselves. The Tech-Priest could feel his systems hum and churn in his body. His mind flooded with technical details and structural weaknesses of the red abomination.

 _= CRITICAL PRIORITY 1A-D: Destroy the Abominable Intelligence. All other priorities rescinded =_

The A.I. The Abominable Intelligence. The greatest of tech-heresies and the most of bitter of lessons taught by the Men of Iron, the heralds of the Age of Strife.

And now Cardsharp had one less than two meters in front of him.

 _Omnissiah and Emperor preserve me._ Cardsharp paled, but he knew what he had to do. Using his left arm he snatched the sacred mechandrite that was his right arm out of Stone's heretical hands. He prayed for Machine Spirit's favour.

 _++ Oh Blessed Machine Spirit, whose flesh was forged from Mars and soul endowed by the Machine God itself, forgive me for my lack of offering of oil and incense. Yet I beseech thee, grant me thine strength so that I may fight in thy Creator's Holy Name ++_

 _= Mechandrite 001 – Primary Right Limb S/N 0912nSHD2nda: Online =_

"Whoa," Victor stared in awe as the arm clicked back into place as if by its own free will, "how did you do that?!"

Cardsharp ignored him. _Thank you Machine Spirit, I promise you a plentiful bounty. Glory to the Omnissiah._

 _= Warning: Operational Efficiency 12.6%. Successful Termination of Abominable Intelligence: 17.8% =_

 _Overclock structural frame._ Cardsharp frowned at the inevitable response, but he had to try.

 _= Negative: System Integrity insufficient. Significant Internal Subsystems removed =_

 _Of course_ , Cardsharp cursed, _one more thing to thank Stone and this 'Doctor Tompkins' for._

 _= CRITICAL PRIORITY 1A-D: Destroy the Abominable Intelligence. All other priorities rescinded =_

As a Tech-Priest of Mars, Cardsharp had many sacred duties. This was one of them. So like it or not, ready or not, he had to fulfil it. Or die trying. With purpose in his step and a prayer in his bionic heart Cardsharp charged.

 _++ DIE YOU HERETICAL ABOMINATION ++_

0o0o0o

Batman, Flash, Superman and Black Canary teleported onto Watchtower.

It was a mess.

The entire complex was trashed, furniture upturned, cracked floors and something that looked unpleasantly like high-temperature burn marks reducing the metal walls to slag. Amongst the klaxon alarms, sounds of fighting echoed in the giant station. It's like they walked into the middle of a free for all.

"What the hell is going on here?" Black Canary blanched.

"Flash, check the facility." Batman ordered, already on the move to the main terminal trying to disable the alarm. A series of clicks on the keyboard and he managed to silence the warning, a few more managed to find the current location of whatever catastrophe caused this mess.

Batman reached for his communicator. "Flash, west central hall."

" _On it."_ The speedster replied. The Flash paused for a second before coming back online. _"Okay I'm here and…woah. Batman get over here."_ Batman ran as fast as he could flanked by Superman and Black Canary.

There they found the source of all the commotion. A ridiculous spectacle of both Hawkman and Hawkwoman wrestling their 'guest' to the floor his body a spectacle that came out of a terrifying house of horrors. The robes were loosened from the struggle, black cables hung from the open wound that was his chest like intestines. He was screaming bloody murder.

"- YOU HERETICAL DOGS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! DESTROY IT! DESTROY IT NOW WHILE WE HAVE THE CHANCE!"

In the corner of the room, Cyborg was nursing a wounded Red Tornado whose head was hanging lopsided across his shoulders a gaping hole in the back of his head.

"Christ," Batman whispered rushing to their metallic comrades side, "what happened?"

"I don't know," Victor focused on fixing the robotic Leaguer, "they were beeping at each other for a couple of seconds and then our 'guest' just went ballistic trying to tip Red Tornado's head off."

Batman turned to the Thanagarian couple. "Hawkman, Hawkwoman, take him back to the facility. Keep him under guard."

The injured cyborg was not deterred struggling with every step they took. "OMNISSIAH SAVE US ALL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! KILL IT! KILL IT NOW!"

"Kid don't make me break your arm." Hawkwoman muttered struggling to contain the screaming cyborg.

"YOU HERETICAL SCUM! YOU WILL ALL 3iuxn9jjeGRAAA827!( )AAAAAAAA-" Batman winced at the sound of feedback and static erupted out of Cardsharp's mouth.

"I told him to keep his voice down." Victor muttered. "Now his voice box has malfunctioned."

Batman glared at the young guest as he was hauled off, until his screaming faded into the distance. "Victor can you save him?"

Victor struggled with a series of tools. "I don't know. Cardsharp inflicted-"

"Cardsharp?"

"Our guests name." Victor explained. "He did a number on Red Tornado, I will do what I can but…Cardsharp must have scanned Red Tornado, he knew exactly where to hit him."

"Do what you can Victor." Batman looked upon Red Tornado's form. "We're going to help you Red, hang in there. But Victor, what did this Cardsharp tell you?"

"Something about an incursion by 'Chaos'. He said our entire planet is in danger." Victor struggled with Red Tornado's wiring. "He said we needed to find and kill someone called Calig at all costs."

"Kill?" Batman frowned at the news. "Thanks Victor, I'll take it from here."

0o0o0o

 _Heresy. Full blown heresy, that's what this is._ Cardsharp paled as he slowly paced the locked room. _The Abominable Intelligence, I never thought I would ever meet one. Omnissiah save me._

 _= CRITICAL PRIORITY 1A-D: Destroy the Abominable Intelligence. All other priorities rescinded =_

Cardsharp groaned, the alert had been blaring the moment he determined Red Tornado's authenticity and it was starting to give him a headache. _Override 56AB-9, disable alarm._

 _= Override confirmed. Alarm disabled =_

The klaxon alarms sounding in his mind silenced immediately, the Tech-Priest sighed in relief. The situation was grave, the A.I. was still active; he had to reach it and destroy it no matter the cost. But that goal has been made untenable now he was locked in the medical room he woke up in.

 _And now there are the two with wings. Those are xenos if there ever was one._ Cardsharp turned his gaze to the winged couple standing just outside the locked door staring back at him with matched intensity. _First A.I, now xenos, it was a Loyalists worst nightmare._

After what seemed like hours the door opened, in fell a man clad head to toe in black. He was flanked by two women. "This is Black Canary," the man gestured to the woman on the left, "and this is Wonder Woman," he gestured to the woman on his right. "And I'm Batman."

"I know who you are." Cardsharp responded, his voice more cold and metallic than ever. "You are the one I met after I killed the Chaos insurgents. I presume you are part of the Planetary Defence Force called the Justice League."

"Yes I am." Batman frowned at the casual acceptance their guest admitted to killing five people. "I'm told your name is Cardsharp. I see you managed to fix your voice box."

The boy said nothing, his stony, blank eyes stared back at the Dark Knight with about as much emotion as a man stares at an ant.

"You relayed to Victor Stone about an incursion by something called Chaos which threatened our planet and the importance of apprehending someone called Calig." Batman started. "We need you tell us all you know so we can ensure the safety of the planet."

" _No."_ The boy's voice echoed.

"But you seemed desperate to help before." Wonder Woman raised a brow.

"That was _before_ I found out this planet is consorting with xenos and the most horrendous of tech-heresies; the Abominable Intelligence."

"You mean Red Tornado?" Black Canary asked uncomfortable of calling a trusted ally and friend 'abominable'.

"Whatever you call it is irrelevant." Cardsharp glared, the tendrils in his eye twitching. "You are traitors and heretics. It is no wonder Chaos came to your world." The cyborg shrugged. "I will not cooperate. I will not help you."

"But the whole world is in danger, you said it yourself." Wonder Woman urged hopeful the boy would look past whatever transgression Cardsharp believed they committed.

"And it seems just that your world shall be put to the grindstone. In time Calig will ensure another Warp tear and Chaos will pour out and consume your world." Cardsharp replied monotonously as if bored with the conversation. "Consider it a blessing, because whatever Chaos inflicts on you will be a gentle embrace compared to what the Adeptus Mechanicus will do to this world and its inhabitants when they find out you are harbouring an A.I."

"The Adeptus Mechanicus?" Black Canary raised a brow.

"Either you are lying, or this truly is a backwater planet." Cardsharp blinked, the only demonstration their guest was even remotely disturbed. "Regardless, Chaos has come to your world and you will suffer greatly in time."

"Then I'm sorry for what I must do." Wonder Woman untied the lasso attached to her waist, and with a flick of the wrist cast the golden thread around Cardsharp. The cyborg struggled but to no avail. "Now tell us what you know."

Cardsharp's bald head began to sweat as he tried to resist, his eye widened in surprise and horror as he felt his body and mind disobey his will. "The source of the invasion is-" the boy's voice cut out as if severed by an unknown force.

"I said, tell us what you know." Wonder Woman

"…" Cardsharp tried to move his lips but nothing came out. All that he could convey was a light wave of static as if someone tuned to a vacant radio channel.

Batman reached to a nearby table and grabbed a pen and paper. "Make him write it down."

Wonder Woman nodded. "Write down everything you know."

Cardsharp took a step forward, a look of pain on his face. He reached for the pen and paper, only for his right arm to shut down with a mechanical whir. The pencil in his left hand dangled perilously over the page, his fingers shaking and twitching. Cardsharp, clearly in pain and undergoing some form of internal struggle nonetheless glared at his captors, a glint of victory in his human eye.

"Batman, I think…I think his cybernetics are disabling his ability to give answers." Black Canary gasped in surprise.

"This isn't working." Wonder Woman actually sounded defeated, she unwound the lass from their guest who looked not the least bit pleased.

The boy called Cardsharp stared blankly, his voice erupting in waves of distortion and static. "Sorcery too…" Cardsharp growled, a touch of menace in his monotone voice, "your sacrilege knows no bounds."

Batman glared at the young boy who prophesised the end of their planet. He nodded to his colleagues, they had to find some way to avert this catastrophe.

0o0o0o

The Justice League sat in their allocated chairs wondering what precisely to do next. It was less than an hour since they attempted to persuade Cardsharp into telling the truth. His lack of cooperation was not at all comforting and the continuous lack of any leads less so.

Zatara himself was most concerned.

"I have been sensing some unusual reading from the ether." The magician clasped his hands tightly. "They have been growing worse with each passing minute."

"Let me guess they commenced sometime around Cardsharp crashed through the museum skylight?" Batman frowned more than usual.

"Yes." Zatara nodded.

"And their significance?"

"I don't know at this point. But it is certainly not good." The magician wiped the sweat off his brow. "I would like to confer with Kent Nelson and perhaps Nabu himself."

"I can arrange an introduction." The newly repaired Red Tornado nodded.

"Are you sure you are okay?"

"I am fully functional." Red Tornado turned to reveal his damaged face, revealing the skeletal structure within. "Victor Stone is an exceptional mechanical expert." Cyborg who stood at the corner of the room nodded at the compliment.

"Very well." Superman agreed. "Please make the necessary introductions." Zatara joined Red Tornado as they made their way to the zeta tubes.

"That still leaves Cardsharp, he's the only one who has any idea of what we are facing." Green Arrow scratched his chin.

"He does not want to help us, he thinks we're all 'heretics'." Black Canary sighed. "The cybernetics are stopping him. We therefore cannot make him talk."

"The only other alternative is for someone to enter his mind and retrieve the answers from there." Batman looked at Martian Manhunter. "J'onn?"

"I can do it." The famed Martian's impassive features tightened. "I am not exactly comfortable with the idea. But I can do it."

"Leaving the moral dilemma of such an idea." Black Canary blanched. "It's not a great way to establish trust."

"We don't have time for trust." Wonder Woman interrupted. "We need answers and we need it now. We have dallied too long as it is."

"I agree." Hawkman and Hawkwoman answered in unison.

"I don't like it." Superman sulked. "But until Zatara and Red Tornado get back, we are at the mercy of time."

"It seems we are in agreement." Batman glanced at their green-skinned colleague. "J'onn we need your help."

0o0o0o

Cardsharp was more rattled than he would care to admit. The A.I, the xeno, the heretic, he could handle all of that. But that golden lasso was without a doubt pure sorcery. He had dealt with sorcery during his time in Subsector Marxian, and it was an experience he never wanted to repeat. The Tech-Priest prayed to the Machine God to be far away from the heretical and disturbing things he saw as the Imperium liberated the planets.

It seems he got his wish.

 _Out of the smelter, into the plasma pool_ , Cardsharp frowned. The adept turned when he heard the door slide open.

Three entered the room, the one on the left was Victor Stone, on the right was Black Canary…but in the middle.

 _= Status: Scanning xeno database =_

 _= Result: 0. Xeno not found =_

The first instinct was to say ork, but as green as the xeno was he could not be mistaken for the barbaric species; the bone structure was all wrong.

"Greetings, I am Martian Manhunter." The green xeno spoke, his voice so calm and cold it could have been mistaken for a Tech-Priest.

 _Martian Manhunter?_ Cardsharp's mind drew a blank. _A Tech-Priest killer?_

 _= Status: Scanning database =_

 _= Result: 0. 'Martian Manhunter' not found =_

"We know you have information regarding the threat of this planet. We need that information." The alien continued. "I have been instructed to telepathically extract the information from your mind if you do not cooperate. I do not want to, yet will if I must."

The Tech-Priest could not care less about the threat, what bugged him was the name of this…thing. "Martian Manhunter." Cardsharp echoed.

"Yes."

If looks could kill, Cardsharp's would have severed heads. " _Martian_ Manhunter."

The xeno looked confused, glancing at Black Canary who shared an equally curious look. "…yes."

" _Mar. Tian._ " Cardsharp emphasised.

"Is that a problem?" Manhunter raised a brow.

"Why do you call yourself Martian?"

"Because…" The Manhunter paused, unsure how precisely the name of his species would confuse another, "I come from the planet Mars."

… _what?_ Cardsharp's response was swift he did not even think it out. "No you don't."

The conviction at the youth's answer actually made J'onn think he was not from Mars. "Yes I do."

"No you don't." Cardsharp countered with a schoolboy argument.

"You sound sure of yourself." Black Canary stepped forward, trying to get them back on track.

"I am." Cardsharp puffed his chest, to reveal the clockwork workings just underneath the skin. "Because _I_ am a Tech-Priest of the Adeptus Mechanicus, born on the Holy Forge World of _Mars_. If _anyone_ or _anything_ has claim to the name 'Martian' it's me."

Martian Manhunter actually _blinked_. "What?"

"Look we can sort this out later." Victor rolled his eyes. "We need information, will you cooperate?"

"Not on your life heretek." Cardsharp never took his eyes off the green xeno. "Give me your best shot."

"Very well." Martian Manhunter's eyes glowed a disturbing red and Cardsharp's mind went dark.

0o0o0o

Most minds are like beehives buzzing with thousands of raw thoughts a rail network of endlessly spawning subconscious. This was not one of them. He actually had trouble getting a lock on his thoughts, it's as if several thoughts were incomplete.

What he could hear was vast sounds of machinery and computers blinking. A faint buzzing in the distance which sounded like a swarm of angry hornets buzzed around him.

He could feel Cardsharp struggle but not active resistance; but focus. Rather than cooperating he was immensely focused on the detailed analysis and assembly of something called a Lasgun. It was creating a 'shield' around central thoughts. Cardsharp was not trained against 'anti-telepathy', but it did the trick. The Martian pushed through with some difficulty, but eventually the shield buckled.

 _Tell of the threat that awaits us,_ the Martian ordered. A flash of imagery so blinding and quick it was over in a second.

 _What awaits us_ , the Martian began tugging at the subconscious. Again a blinding flash of imagery.

It was then J'onn realised he got his answer.

J'onn J'onzz had seen many things in his long life, but not even he could imagine a mind so ordered, so structured, so detailed….so goddamn _fast_. He recalled touching the mind of Lex Luthor, the so called genius of earth, but even his mind was nothing like this.

Amongst the strange sounds of hydraulics and machinery he could hear a faint buzzing growing louder.

 _What the hell are you?_ J'onn thought to himself. _Tell me of the threat to this planet. Slowly._ It was not great, but better. Flashes of intel entered his brain.

Sub-sector Marxian.

A war between Cardsharp's commanders, something called the Imperium of Mankind, and an inexplicably nefarious group called Chaos. Amongst the visions of explosions and gunfire and the sounds of screams was a clear image, a creature of colossal scale its size towering towards the black sky something called a 'Daemon'. It was hideous and terrifying to behold like the horror stories J'onn was told as a child.

Fast-forwarding from world after world, month after month, the Manhunter finally reached what he needed.

Cardsharp was on the ground, bleeding and in pain, he saw the enemy called Major Calig; a balding man covered in blood and scorched armour. He could feel Cardsharp's animosity and desperate concern at killing that man.

He saw Calig summon a portal, no, a Warp tear hoping to bring monsters unimaginable forth into the world. Cardsharp fired a gun; interrupted the ceremony sucking all of them in. A horrific vision of monsters and teeth and grim realisation a terrible death.

Then suddenly…the air. Cardsharp crashed through a skylight. He killed the treasonous Guardsman sustaining fatal damage, Calig vanished amongst the confusion. Through Cardsharp's eyes, J'onn saw Batman, tried to relay the need to kill Calig and then darkness.

J'onn could sense the overwhelming need to kill Calig, otherwise monsters of the Daemon he saw could run amock all over the planet.

 _I think I have what I need._ Martian Manhunter nodded approvingly. _But I need to figure out what this Adeptus Mechanicus is, otherwise they might threaten us too._

And what the Martian saw shocked him to his very core.

He saw Mars.

The Holy Forge World of Mars.

The beautiful red sands of his home were barely visible through the brown smog that engulfed the atmosphere around the planet, and the continent sized factory-cathedrals that ran across the surface pumping out weapons uncountable, sent through orbital elevators that blotted out the sun.

The Cult of the Machine, the Machine Spirit, the technology to destroy planets in the blink of an eye. The power of the God-Emperor of Mankind; the Omnissiah guiding an entire people to the sole act of war.

 _My God._ The Martian felt his heart race.

 _ **No,**_ a voice whispered, _**the Machine God.**_ And like that, everything went dark. No images, no information, just silence. The imagery, and the data vanished as if ripped out of J'onn's hands and disappeared.

The only sound was that of the endless churning of machinery, that buzzing grew into a storm of locusts rattling rough the Martian's mind. Then the storm spoke a word.

 _= SIGNAL LOCKED =_

Something wrapped around J'onn's throat strangling him, and the walls of the cyborg's mind crashed upon him like a steel box, crushing his mind's power under a wall of electricity. He tried his best to leave the recesses of Cardsharp's mind, but he could not…or something would not let him.

 _ **You skulked around in my mind too long,**_ Cardsharp's mind spoke. _**Did you think the Adeptus Mechanicus was created yesterday? You think you are the only psyker the Cult of the Machine had to endure?**_ The buzzing turned into a storm of thunder and crackling lightening. _**It's time you met your misbegotten maker xeno.**_

Before J'onn J'onzz could muster up some sort of defence, the grip clamped down on his mind like a vice. _**Glory to the Omnissiah.**_

The crackle of lightning struck the heart of the Martian's mind, and the hero screamed into oblivion.

0o0o0o

Well guys, there you go.

I hope you guys enjoyed it.

Just a little update, I'm still working on other stories at the moment.

Also, in terms of timeline, Cardsharp landed in Gotham somewhere around November 2009, some 5-6 months before Young Justice timeline also known as 'Independence Day'.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey fellas.

Thanks to all of you for your reviews. I am grateful for your feedback and glad you enjoy it.

Couple of notes: I realise Young Justice is set in Earth 16. From what I can gather, that universe has not been used much and near as I can realise a couple of heros's have been nerfed from mainstream DCU. Example: Belle Reve can apparently hold Superman, and Professor Ivo can apparently resist Miss Martian's telepathy.

That being said, I will endeavour to _**not**_ make the heroes or villains super weak/dumb, and _**not**_ make Cardsharp a Mary Sue, he can do a lot of things but being invincible is not one of them.

All said in done, I present you this:

Chapter 5

Calig was currently rutting around a block of apartments, he had not slept since he ran out of that museum with that accursed _cog-boy_.

But he not could believe his eyes when he saw it, the newspapers, the people, the planet…this was Terra.

Holy. Fucking. Terra.

It seemed impossible. It was only after two murders and a sacrifice to his dark masters was he certain. A force in the back of his mind, the familiar tingling of the Warp pull and push him around this city called Gotham. It led him up alleys and down sewers until finally it led him to…wherever he was. _Oh well…Blood for the Blood God._

He broke into a basement window and quickly ascended the thirteenth floor, it just…felt right. Calig could not explain it. Searching the floor looking for the room that just had something….just something about it.

 _This one…no…This one….no…..no….maybe, wait…no._ Calig finally rounded on a door simply named 1307. _This one…yes. Yes this is the one. Now what?_ Calig stood in front of the door as if he was expecting it to make the first move. _Do I kick it in? Toss a grenade? What? What?! Tell me you stupid door!_

Calig grew frustrated before banging his fist on it in irritation…or at least he would have as the door magically opened.

And there he saw. Her.

"Hello there mister." The woman whose body was absent of all forms of clothing leaned against the frame of the door pronouncing her already perfect breasts. "I'm Selina Kyle, I was told to expect you."

"…" Calig always imagined this moment, he recalled sharing stories with his unit of all the witty lines they would use on women, and now here he was in front of a drop dead gorgeous one and now he can't think of a damn thing.

"Hi." Calig muttered. _Not the smoothest line in my repertoire, but it will do._

"Tall, dark and mysterious, just my type." She smiled lazily leaning forward close enough for Calig to smell her. "You look like you have had a rough time. Me too. What's say you come inside and we can…relieve each other. And then afterward, maybe you could help the ones who decided to matchmake us."

Before Calig had even the opportunity to form a reply she walked into the bedroom, her hips and bare rear rocked hypnotically with ever step. "Before that, have a shower and brush your teeth. I like my men clean."

"You know me…" Calig smirked stepping inside the dark room. "Anything for the Chaos Gods."

0o0o0o

 _Where am I?_ J'onn J'onzz stood in front of a viewport of a starship. It was dark and quiet, the only sounds were the hushed whispers of men and women dotted around the compartment.

They wore uniforms that could distinctly be described as middle-eastern desert fatigues. They all looked anxious and worried about something, something bad. The Manhunter felt slightly ill himself, a strange nauseating pit in his chest.

It was only then he felt a cold hand on his shoulder.

 _ **++ Are you well my apprentice? ++**_

The Martian turned to face a man, or at least what was left of one. What he came across was a large machine in the shape of a humanoid. A long flowing red robe obscured a body forged from computers and hydraulics. Under the hood, two large red eyes stood flinted amongst the cables and blinking lights. For some reason that confounded the Martian, he knew this 'man's' name was Kyriz.

 _++ I am okay, master ++_ J'onn spoke, his voice ticklish and uncomfortable. _++ I am just concerned ++_

 _ **++ I see ++**_ Kyriz spoke. J'onn actually felt at ease in the presence of the red-robed adept, he was warm and accommodating, and he felt great affection and trust for him.

 _++ In truth I share the concerns of the Tallarn ++_ J'onn continued. _++ Are we sure this is the right course of action? ++_

 _ **++ Human life is the Emperor's currency, the planets are His Bank. The act of Exterminatus is used only when there is no hope left ++**_ Kyriz nodded in understanding. _**++ The Inquisition makes their choices carefully ++**_

 _++ And the innocent people on the surface below?++_ J'onn asked, confused and uncertain. _++What of the loyal Machine Spirits?++_

 _ **++ The Emperor and Omnissiah will guard them ++**_ Kyriz reassured.

A voice crackled to life over the speakers, drowning the murmurs and conversations across the compartment. The voice was filled with age and cold realisation.

" _In fealty of the God-Emperor of Man our undying Lord, and by grace of the Golden Throne; I hereby declare Exterminatus on the Imperium World of Malidar-Tempus."_

 _ **++ It's begun ++**_ Kyriz noted. J'onn's stomach gurgled in objection.

" _I hereby sign the death warrant of an entire world, and consign a billion souls to oblivion. May Imperium justice account in all balance. The Emperor protects."_

Several Tallarn whispered prayers to the God-Emperor, hoping this was the right thing to do.

 _ **++ Come apprentice ++**_ Kryiz gestured to the viewport. _**++ Come watch ++**_

J'onn faced the window and saw the planet they orbited, a planet that J'onn somehow knew was teeming with hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of people.

His eyes zoomed onto one ship that stood apart from the fleet a solitary battleship of unimaginable size. One dot of light exited the belly of the metal behemoth, and when it finally struck the earth beneath, the entire world burned red with fire of unprecedented heat. J'onn felt the the ship rumble from the aftershock, and he steadied himself with a mechanical hand.

 _A billions souls…gone._ J'onn gasped. But worst of all was the grim acknowledgement in the pit of his stomach was the worst was yet to come.

0o0o0o

J'onn jerked awake from the nightmare, his body ablaze with burning agony.

A gentle hand pushed him back onto the bed.

" _Relax J'onn your safe."_ A voice spoke, a voice that was definitely not English, or indeed any other language of Earth. He cautiously opened his eyes, embracing the blinding pain of light, to see not a man but a Martian.

" _My name is K'Darl F'Ieth."_ The Martian spoke. _"I am a doctor. You are in a hospital."_

 _Why are you not – AGH!_ Martian Manhunter cradled his head, the feeling of a thousand needles sliding through his brain.

" _Your mind has experienced a tremendous shock."_ The Martian continued. _"It would be unwise to use telepathy at this point, as well as any of your other abilities."_

J'onn slowly removed his hands from his head, only to realise they were not human hands. They were long and seek with two digits instead of five, he had returned to his natural Martian form. _"What happened?"_ J'onn croaked.

" _You entered the mind of a subject,_ "The doctor continued, " _but the subject in question had some kind of telepathic trap or countermeasure in place."_

" _I felt like he almost killed me."_ J'onn rested his eyes.

" _He very nearly did. More than you can imagine."_ F'Ieth pondered. _"Your brain has suffered significant trauma and haemorrhaging."_

J'onn allowed his head to rest against the bed he lay in, but something was still off. He turned to look out a nearby window.

Mars.

The Red Planet Mars.

 _His_ Mars.

" _How did I get here?"_ J'onn asked. The doctor made the martial equivalent of a smile and pointed to several guests in the corner of the room.

"Hello J'onn how are you feeling?" Wonder Woman held his hand, an act he greatly accepted.

"Alive." J'onn replied, returning to english. "What happened?"

"Your brain was haemorrhaging." Batman stepped forward. "We don't know anyone familiar with Martian anatomy, so John gave us a ride back home to treat you."

"Thank you John Stewart." The Martian nodded to the Green Lantern, who smiled in return. "How long was I out?"

"About a day." Wonder Woman frowned. "We had no idea Cardsharp had some kind of anti-telepathic countermeasure in place. We never would have sent you in, if we did."

"It's okay Diana." The Martian squeezed her hand. "I know. I would not have entered his mind if he did either."

"Right now you get your rest, we'll find another way." Batman turned to walk out the room.

"Wait," J'onn paled, "when I was in his mind I found some things out."

"You should rest J'onn." Batman paused at the door.

"This cannot wait." J'onn whispered. "I managed to glean some insight before Cardsharp's failsafe came into effect. The thing called Chaos is a demonic force-"

"Excuse me… _demonic_?" Diana shuddered.

"Yes." J'onn frowned. "And I don't mean in a metaphorical way, I saw the monsters and unspeakable creatures he fought. Cardsharp is part of a galaxy spanning army called the Imperium of Mankind, their sole purpose for millennia has been war. He is part of a sub-organisation called the Adeptus Mechanicus, a cult where technology has become a _religion_."

"I have not had recent contact with the Green Lantern Corps." John Stewart shook his head. "But even I know that such a force does not exist in the Universe."

"You are right, John Stewart." The Martian agreed. "But it is not a question of where, but when."

Everyone turned to Batman, who narrowed his eyes. "How far in the future? 30th century? 40th?"

"Batman," the Martian cringed, "he comes from the _41_ _st_ _millennium_." The silence was so potent it made their Martian doctor shuffle uncomfortably.

"What?" The Dark Knight's eyes actually widened. "Are you sure?"

"Unless they use a different reference point for time." The Martian shook his head in doubt. "It's the furthest time displacement I have ever seen."

"So Cardsharp is from _thirty-nine thousand_ years in the _future_?" Diana weighed the consequences. "What is he _doing_ here?"

"During his encounter, he was sucked through something through Warp tear with a traitor guardsman called Calig." The Martian explained. "Calig knows the ceremonies and will try to summon the creatures of the Warp to this reality and if he does humanity will be destroyed…utterly. Followed swiftly by Mars and so on and so on."

"Why would Calig do that?" The Green Lantern leant against the wall.

"I don't know, he's insane." J'onn reached for the corner of the bed. "We have to do something now…"

"Ah, ah ah." The doctor spoke in english. "You are not going anywhere."

"F'Ieth, this is important."

"I have no doubt, but you are in no position to preform you duties." The doctor eased him back into bed. "Your mind was shredded to pieces, your brain has suffered severe trauma. If you leave, you will lapse into a coma and never wake up."

"But-"

"If you try and leave, I will restrain you." The doctor straightened. "You are in no position to travel, much less fight."

"J'onn," Batman interrupted, "you have done more than enough. We will take it from here."

"Wait," J'onn paled, "what happened to Cardsharp?"

"The countermeasure was apparently designed to kill you." Batman explained. "But during the surgery by Tompkins and Stone, several vital relay chips were removed. Without them, not only did Cardsharp fail to generate a strong enough current but the feedback nearly fried him as well."

"He's alive…" J'onn cradled his aching head, "you will need to convince Cardsharp to help you. You will also need every person familiar with magic to assist."

"Help us?" Wonder Woman leaned back in surprise. "He almost _killed_ you."

"What he did to me is irrelevant." J'onn explained. "He fought in something called the Subsector Marxian campaign since it began. He knows the signs for Chaos and he knows how to fight it, you _will_ need his help."

"How do we convince him?"

The Martian mulled it over. "Tell him the truth, tell him he is on planet Earth."

"That would work?"

"If you convince him, he would have no choice." The Martian frowned. "In the future, humanity has been gripped by religious fanaticism waging a crusade for who knows how long. Earth is a sacred holy site. His faith and code will demand he help us, regardless of what he thinks."

"Okay, we'll tell him." Batman headed out.

"There was one more thing." J'onn whispered. "In his timeline, Mars becomes property of the Adeptus Mechanicus, their holy land if you will. I don't know how or why our home came to be in their possession, but if his memories are any indication I can presume it was not peacefully."

"What are you saying?" Wonder Woman asked, already aware of the implications.

"I serve to protect Earth and I will continue to do so." J'onn explained. "But I have a duty to my people, I must tell them of what I saw."

Batman, Wonder Woman and John Stewart shared glances weighing the consequences of such a revelation could mean. Humanity is not exactly 'friends' with the Martians, but they were not 'enemies' either; this news could firmly decide Martian policy with regards to humans. "You will do what you think is best." Batman said with a tone of finality.

0o0o0o

Fun-fact: the truth about Tech-Priest's being incapable of feeling emotion is not entirely accurate. Granted there are such operations such as the Rite of Pure Thought which allow for such a thing. With that one exception, members of the Adeptus Mechanicus can feel emotion. The only variance is degree, the longer one was a tech-priest the more 'dulled' emotions can be.

What would be described as 'joy', could feel like 'satisfaction' to an adept of the Cult of the Machine. 'Terror' would be akin to 'mild fear'. 'Despair' could be described as 'unpleasant'.

Cardsharp felt mind-bogglingly, aneurysm-inducingly _furious_. As Cardsharp lay on the surgical bed, bound and incapacitated he fumed in silent disgust.

 _Oh, Victor Stone and 'Doctor Tompkins',_ Cardsharp thought, _you two have one-way tickets to_ _ _Servitude Imperpituis_ the second I get out of here. I swear to the Machine God you will spend the rest of your lives cleaning bathroom floors with your tongues!_

Those two hereteks rerouted half of the tech-priest's internal sub-systems bypassing the electrical grounding chips. The anti-psyker countermeasure hit him like a Leman Russ, his mind experiencing a headache of unholy proportions. _Thankfully, the voltage was at 80% capacity, otherwise I would have lay dead next to the xeno._

Thanks to the surge the heretics removed his cybernetic arm and legs. Partially because they were concerned for the Tech-Priest's safety, mostly because they did not want to take any chances. So now Cardsharp lay, incapacitated and helpless. The only solace was that Chaos will soon get rid of these heretics, granted Cardsharp will suffer with them but it is a small price to pay to ensure the destruction of the A.I.

Then the door hissed open.

In walked Victor Stone and Black Canary, they did not look remotely happy. _It seems I may die before Chaos has a chance to take root_ , Cardsharp glared back. They unhooked the restraints and ushered him into a wheelchair.

Neither party said so much as a word to each other. They slowly wheeled Cardsharp to the main hall, the location where he met the Abominable Intelligence.

Lo and behold, there it was; Red Tornado, the bane of all Tech-Priests. _The hereteks actually repaired it_ , Cardsharp sighed, _may the Machine God forgive me._

 _= CRITICAL PRIOTIY 1A-D: Destroy the Abominable Intelligence. All other priorities rescinded =_

The klaxon alarms sent Cardsharp's already bad headache into overdrive. _Override 56AB-9 disable alarm._

 _= Override confirmed. Alarm disabled =_

The room was filled with members of the so called 'Justice League'. They stared at him. He stared at them. Not a word was said for what seemed like minutes.

It was then that Victor Stone revealed a set of metallic legs, Cardsharp's legs. After several minutes of connecting cables and welding, the Tech-Priest could feel his connection to his legs return. He immediately stood up, kicking the wheelchair out from underneath him.

"You are Enginseer Cardsharp, Acting Senior Tech-Priest assigned to the 4th Mechanised Company of the 94th Tallarn Desert Raiders." Batman started. "You are part of an organisation called the Adeptus Mechanicus."

Cardsharp said nothing, and revealed nothing. _It seems the Manhunter survived_ , he cursed, _and he managed to glean some details from my mind._ It mattered not, a self-check subroutine that all the xeno failed to access any classified data.

"Cardsharp," Black Canary continued moving towards him trying to appear as non-threatening as possible, "I know we may seem like the bad guys to you, but we need your help. We need your help to fight Chaos."

"I will not cooperate. I will not help you." Cardsharp glared.

"I know it might seem to the contrary," Canary stepped back, "but we are not the enemy."

"How am I expected to trust you?"

"We gave you your legs back." Stone offered.

"Legs that were already mine." Cardsharp countered. "That will not buy and iota of goodwill from me."

Batman gestured at the table behind him, which lay all of Cardsharp's equipment. His ballistic mechandrites, servo-arm, his power-axe, his nano-subsystems and redundant cogitators, even his damaged bionics and cables. Amongst the sizable bulk of equipment stood two things.

"KA63 and KA64…" Cardsharp slowly walked to the table. Out of his peripheral, he say two men dressed in similar glowing green uniforms step forward but Batman waved them back. He cradled KA64 in his left hand and in this dire situation, allowed a small smile. _Oh thank the Machine God you are both safe._

"We have returned them to you." Batman continued. "However, we have disabled all the weapon systems."

 _As if that matters to a Tech-Priest_ , Cardsharp thought, a brief scan of the table did reveal a glaring issue. "Where are the rest of my cybernetics?"

"We returned all of them to you." Batman explained.

"No you have not." Cardsharp glanced at the table. "I was bequeathed with 356 separate components including 95 nano-cogitators. I only see 90."

"Those were destroyed." Batman's eyes narrowed.

 _= Analysing statement. Running scans =_

A small series of pulses emanated out of Cardsharp's skull allowed a wealth of vision into his mind, he saw infrared, x-ray, radiographic, and more importantly Magnetic Resonance Imagery. It was a helpful little tool for analysing metallic structures, but also an exceptional way of detecting when someone was consciously lying.

 _= Result: Elevated activity in prefrontal cortex. Conclusion: 96.4% chance of Deceptive Statement =_

"You are lying to me." Cardsharp spoke without looking up.

"I am not-"

"I have access to the entire radiographic spectrum. That strange feeling of warmth washing over you? That's _me_ , looking at _you_. I can see you in ways you can't even imagine. I know when I am being lied to." Cardsharp finally looked upon the black clad warrior, his right eye's micro-cameras writhing. "You will return all my components. _Now._ "

"I assure you those components were destroyed."

"Then I suggest you go to whatever waste disposal you dumped them and _bring them back_." Cardsharp spoke, his words as harsh as a metal grinder. "Or would you rather have this world _burn_ because of your arrogance?"

"Jesus…" Black Canary muttered glaring at Batman with serious disdain.

Batman stared.

Cardsharp stared back.

The Dark Knight reluctantly reached into his utility belt and placed five chips on the table; three were fully functional, two were damaged beyond repair. Nonetheless; their serial numbers checked against Cardsharp's database.

 _= Status: Scan complete. All cybernetics accounted for =_

Something within Cardsharp unwound in relief.

"Now," Black Canary ceased her glare at Batman and returned to Cardsharp, "I hope you can listen to us."

"You have bought yourself precisely two minutes of goodwill." Cardsharp focused on KA64. "I'm listening."

"Where and when precisely do you think you are?"

 _Where and when?_ Cardsharp blinked. "Some heretical world. System, sub-sector and Segmentum unknown. Imperium date 0 857 999.M41." Several members of the League gave longing looks at each other, about what the Tech-Priest did not know.

"Cardsharp," Black Canary went for it. "You are on planet Earth, the date is 9 November 2009."

 _= Scanning database 'Earth' and '9 November 2009' =_

 _= Result: Earth, obsolete name of Holy Terra. Ceased use 9 500 826M.26 =_

 _= Result: Obsolete Gregorian calendar, ceased use 9 800 445M.18. Conversion 0 857 009.M3=_

Cardsharp remained silent, focusing instead on trying to get KA64 back online.

"Well?" Black Canary interrupted the silence.

"You have one minute, thirty-six seconds." Cardsharp squinted at the servo-skull.

"Cardsharp, I'm telling the truth you are in the 21st century and that is planet Earth." The mutant gestured out the viewport on the mysterious blue and green planet. "Use your…whatever it is, it will say I'm telling the truth."

 _= Status: Analysing statement. Running scans =_

 _= Result: All elevations normal. Conclusion: 4.9% chance of Deceptive Statement =_

Cardsharp gently put KA64 down on the bench. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that statement?"

"It's true." Black Canary smiled. "Your scans confirmed it, didn't they?"

"Scans help, but do not confirm." Cardsharp looked at the so called Planetary Defence Force. "I have seen Holy Terra, it does not look like _that_." Cardsharp nodded to the planet they orbited.

"But that is because you have gone back in time." Black Canary furrowed her brows. "You have to believe us."

"I don't have to believe _anything_." Cardsharp barked. "You have offered no proof. Why should I believe you?"

The League frowned, he had them there; what could they offer him?

"You can access our computer system." Batman finally offered.

"Batman no," Victor leaned to him, "if he accesses the network, the damage he could undertake would be limitless."

"I know the risks. But the Chaos incursion is too great a threat to ignore." Batman turned to Cardsharp. "Full access to our computer. You will find the answers you seek there."

Cardsharp paused; that was unexpected. The heretek Stone was right, Cardsharp could indeed make their life very difficult if he accessed their network; he could turn their entire defence network against them, call in reinforcements or even destabilise power generators across the planet. Yet here they were, offering their own necks on a chopping block.

Cardsharp did not believe them for a second, but if they were willing to let him access their cogitator he was not going to say no. If anything he will be able to find out where precisely he was and call for reinforcements.

"Very well." Cardsharp stepped forward. "I will indulge this…charade." They watched as the Tech-Priest began ruffling through the medical robe, slowly searching for something. It was after several seconds did he pull out what he was looking for, a large black cable with a series of dongles and excess wires that led from the large and confusing mess that was his cybernetics. He accessed their terminal in the centre of the room, they offered no resistance to the attempt.

"We will have to set you up with a clearance code and account." Batman explained. "It will take seve-"

"Uh, Batman," Wonder Woman tapped his shoulder, "he's already in."

" _Welcome,"_ the computer cheerfully greeted, " _Administrator 00_."

Batman looked up to the main view screen and he could already see how easily Cardsharp broke through the security system, it was like the computer _allowed_ him full access.

They could see Cardsharp's thought processes laid bare for all to see, terabytes of data being sifted through in mere seconds. It was too quick for him to read, one second there was a file the next something completely different.

"My God…" Batman gazed in amazement. He could ask Red Tornado to follow him, but just by looking at the monitor, he doubted the robot hero could keep up. All they could do it watch…and pray.

0o0o0o

 _= Unknown Network Connection. Status: Accessing =_

 _= Error: Unknown Encryption in Effect. Running Algorithms =_

 _++ Oh glorious Machine Spirit ++_ Cardsharp prayed. _++ May thine Holy nature see my soul and know that I serve thine Lord and Creator, the Machine God. I beseech thee, show me the knowledge you possess ++_

 _= Security Lowered. Unknown Network Connection accessed =_

 _= Internal Network: Justice League Watchtower Computer =_

 _++ Greetings Machine Spirit ++_ Cardsharp mentally bowed. The cogitator transmitted a vast series of data: Batman, Superman, Flash, all the names of Justice League. There was a remote link the Tech-Priest could not immediately access, it was a heavily encrypted cogitator that would not identify itself, something Cardsharp made a mental note to look it up later. _Access and identify any and all Planetary Networks._

 _= Analysis: 1 Global Network System found - Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. Identity: The Internet =_

 _TCP/IP? A very obsolete system._ Cardsharp twitched. _Access and analyse._

 _= Accessing and downloading =_

Thousands of terabytes of date flooded his mind, he was none too pleased with what he saw. _….that's an awful amount of pornography,_ Cardsharp shuddered, _and why are there so many pictures of cats?_

 _= Analysis: Internet consists of approximately 24.24 exabyte of data =_

Cardsharp chuffed; this 'internet' was an awfully small network. It did not matter, it was time to call in the cavalry, to hell with Black Canary's ridiculous explanation. _Access Adeptus Administratum Network._

 _= Error: Network not found =_

 _What? Impossible…_ Cardsharp frowned, _Reboot and access Adeptus Administratum Network._

 _= Reboot Complete._ _Error: Network not found =_

 _Access Imperium Security Network._

 _= Error: Network not found =_

 _Access Astronomicon Relay System._

 _= Error: Network not found =_

 _Access Adeptus Arbites Judiciary System._

 _= Error: Network not found =_

 _Access Adeptus Mechanicus Network._

 _= Error: Network not found =_

… _okay…_ Cardsharp was beginning to grasp at straws now. _Access Inquisitorial Network._

 _= WARNING: Accessing classified network. Unauthorised access will result in Inquisitorial review. Confirm Command =_

Cardsharp did not particularly want to end up as a servitor, but the lack of anything remotely familiar was not reassuring; even on a heretical world there would be some evidence of Imperium dominance. Besides the Inquisition is always interested in A.I, heretics and xenos. _Priority 1-9A – Evidence of Abominable Intelligence, Xenos and Heresy. Request Emergency Access._

 _= Emergency Acknowledged. Accessing Inquisitorial Network =_

 _= Error: Network not found =_

Cardsharp stared blankly at the cogitator as if it was purposefully messing with him. But it was not, the Imperium Network did not exist on this planet. _But that is impossible…unless…don't tell me they are telling the truth?_ Cardsharp glanced at the Justice League who were either watching him or the main view screen where they could see Cardsharp's dive into the Internet. _It can't be…Access Holy Terra Archives._

 _= WARNING: Accessing classified data. Unauthorised access will result in Inquisitorial review. Confirm Command =_

 _Command confirmed._

 _= Accessing Holy Terra Data v. 0 084 999.M41 =_

 _Access Internet Fossil and_ _Paleoclimatology_ _Records._

 _= Searching. Networks found:_ _Smithsonian Institution_ , _United States Antarctic Program_ _McMurdo_ _Station Database, Russian Federation_ _Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute and French National Centre for Scientific Research =_

 _= Running decryption algorithms =_

 _= Decryption successful. Accessing Fossil and_ _Paleoclimatology_ _Records =_

 _Collate records found on Internet databases and compare to Terran records up until 0 857 009.M3._

Cardsharp's Terran records were magnitudes greater than the information provided on the internet. He only had to overlay the small segment over the Terran equivalent, looking for key details, such as carbon-dioxide emissions, mineral data and key carbon or radiothermic dating.

 _= Cataloguing. Collating. Comparing =_

 _= Comparison complete. Result: 98.64% comparison =_

 _What?!_ Cardsharp's left eye widened in shock. _The chances of another planet experiencing the same environment and fossil record as Terra or indeed any other planet is impossible!_ Cardsharp took a shallow breath to calm himself. _Okay, okay…run a geothermal and_ _lithosphere comparison. Same record date._

 _= Accessing 642 geological databases._ _Running decryption algorithms =_

 _= Decryption successful =_

Cardsharp's mind buzzed as he saw Holy Terra's tectonic plates, there was very little data as to what the surface of the earth looked like back in the beginning of the 3rd millennia. Still it is possible to extrapolate taking into account major events. _Extrapolate current data to 2 857 009.M3. Compare and collate._

 _= Warning: Extrapolation will result in 2% inaccuracy compounding every 5 millennia =_

 _Understood._ The Tech-Priest grimaced. _Proceed._

 _= Extrapolating. Collating. Comparing =_

 _= Comparison complete. Result: 91.64% comparison =_

 _Even with a 7.6% variation, that is remarkably high._ Cardsharp's bionic heart beat louder with each second, his mind filled with mechanical whirring and hydraulic pumping. _Access star charts._

The last card the Tech-Priest had up his sleeve; with the possible exception of the Tau, Cardsharp cannot recall any race that uses star-charts. In the Imperium, navigation is conducted solely through the Warp, the Astronomicon the lighthouse in the void. Still the Adeptus Mechanicus was not one to throw away perfectly good information.

 _= Accessing_ _National Aeronautics and Space Administration,_ _Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency,_ _Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities and-=_

 _Negative. Abort._ Cardsharp had one more test up his sleeve and there was the distinct, but remote possibility that all the data he accessed could have been fabricated. He needed to _see_ the stars. _Live feed only, search and access satellite uplinks._

 _= Searching space observation platforms. Scanning =_

 _= Scan complete. 35 observations platforms found. Decrypting uplinks =_

 _= Decryption successful. Accessing observatory controls =_

Dozens of images of thousands of stars flood Cardsharp's mind, live data of the surrounding universe. _Extrapolate galactic star charts to 0 857 009.M3. Holy Terra view._

 _= Extrapolating =_

The Tech-Priest watched as his galaxy turned back time, however considering the galaxy takes 226 million years to rotate the shift was ever so slight. But with that slight rotation, galactic bodies were in new positions. Stars once dead were alive and newly born planets were loosely held rock formations.

 _= Collating. Comparing =_

 _= Comparison complete. Result: 99.86% comparison =_

He saw as the maps of universe were overlaid with the live feed of the satellites orbiting planet, and small electrical surge briefly stopped his heart as he saw them perfectly align. You can fake many things, data, people and even loyalty. But you cannot fake truth, and Cardsharp could not deny how perfectly the star aligned with live feed from dozens of satellites.

 _Based on relevant data,_ Cardsharp stared in amazement, _calculate probability of planet being Terra in_ _0 857 009.M3_

 _= Calculating. Based on provided data, probability of planet being Terra in_ _0 857 009.M3_ : 98.78% =

 _=Conclusion: Chrono Event detected. Report to the nearest Inquisitor immediately =_

0o0o0o

Five seconds.

All it took was five seconds to reduce a cold, stony-eyed cyborg to a pale, wide-eyed boy. The Justice League could not precisely understand what happened, the only person even remotely capable of keeping up would have been Flash. Regardless, the computer screens which showed Cardsharp's mind relayed what they said; this planet was Terra.

"Cardsharp," Black Canary interrupted drawing the boy's attention, his eye widened ever so slightly in disbelief, "do you believe us now?"

Cardsharp remained completely impassive, but the computer screens blinked to life again. The Tech-Priest still had access to the live speed to the dozens of space observatory platforms, in the distance he saw a little red dot. _Zoom in and enhance._ Several large cameras complied. And there he saw it.

Mars.

The Holy Forge World of Mars.

 _His_ Mars.

Cardsharp so desperately wanted to go home, to be in the most holy Manufactorums of the Imperium of Mankind. But that world did not exist…not _yet_ at least. _What do I do?_

 _= Chrono Event detected. Report to the nearest Inquisitor immediately =_

 _But the Inquisiton does not even exist this far back? What am I supposed to do?_ Cardsharp clutched at straws.

 _= Chrono Event detected. Report to the Inquisition immediately =_

 _Great,_ Cardsharp grumbled. The Tech-Priest has heard of chrono events due to Warp travel. But those events can send and individual, days, months, years, even centuries. But not _millennia_. _How did I even get here? Why?_

Then realisation hit him like a Titan.

… _Wait…_

"This is _Holy Terra_ , unguarded by the God-Emperor's holy light…." Cardsharp muttered, ignorant of the strange looks the League was giving him, "and Chaos has fell upon it."

 _Oh...by the Machine God no._

 _= Conclusion: Chaos Insurgency at the beginning of the 3_ _rd_ _Millennium to ensure the defeat of humanity =_

 _Destroy the Imperium of Man before it even begins._ Cardsharp blinked, a part of his mind appreciating the sheer genius of the idea, the rest shivering in utter horror of the reality. Klaxon alarms rang inside his mind, stronger and louder than before; the most important and sacred duty of the Adeptus Mechanicus has come to call.

 _= CRITICAL PRIORITY 1 A-A: Ensure the preservation of Mankind. All other priorities rescinded =_

"Enginseer Cardsharp," Batman stepped forward, reminding the Tech-Priest of Commissar Gevin, "Earth…Holy Terra is in danger. It's now or never, will you help us?"

Cardsharp stared at the Justice League; a mixture of heretics, hereteks, mutants, sorcerers abhumans, xenos and lest a Tech-Priest forget the Abominable Intelligence… and they are Holy Terra's only hope against a Chaos invasion. _Omnissiah preserve me._ The Tech-Priest of Mars spoke his words carefully and with a mixture of revulsion, pride and revelation. "I will help you."

0o0o0o

Hey guys, there you go. That more or less concludes the 'Introduction Arc'. Next up is wrapping up the Chaos aspect.

I find that Tech-Priest's have very few gripes, they don't hate many things (with the exception of A.I's, and xeno's claiming they own Mars), from what I gather they seem to be crazy yet one of the more 'agreeable' races fighting only when something gets in their way.

I know some of you wanted J'onn dead. Sorry to disappoint, but I found it detrimental to the story if he did. I have a distinct feeling some people are not walking out of this story alive * _glares murderously at Red Tornado_ *.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey Guys and Gals.

Still alive. Sorry to have kept you waiting.

Here you go.

Chapter 6

"What do you mean there is only you?" Cardsharp was not the least bit enthused for several reasons.

One, Calig. That blasted heretic was on the loose on Holy Terra itself. That traitorous guardsman is up to something, he was too far gone to do something sensible like run, hide and pray that nobody finds him. No, he was going to make a play for Terra on behalf of his foul gods. How was obvious; get reinforcements and consume the planet in Chaos. The only question was where and when.

Two, Red Tornado. Every fibre both flesh and wire alike demanded its destruction. Immediately. Even in the face of a Chaos Insurgency that could soon engulf the entire planet. Cardsharp did not care how much reassurance the Justice League provided him; Red Tornado was an A.I. The soulless sentience revealed its true colours near the end of the Age of Technology; humanity's Golden Age. They destroyed _everything_. Mankind has paid for that mistake sixteen thousand years on, and it looked like there was no end in sight. The bedrock of the Adeptus Mechanicus required the immediate destruction of Red Tornado, and now the Tech-Priest had to accept that not only can he not destroy the Abominable Intelligence (at least not yet), he had to work with the cursed thing. If Kyriz could see him now…

Three, the Justice League. This so called Planetary Defence Force numbered sixteen. Not sixteen million, or sixteen thousand.

Sixteen.

One. Six.

Victor 'Cyborg' Stone was not even a member, he was an affiliate that seemed to have strong connections to a government called the 'United States of America'. The Tech-Priest actually had to scan them just to be sure; never was an acolyte of the Cult of the Machine more horrified by the truth. _Sixteen against the forces of Chaos_ , Cardsharp cradled his head, _Omnissiah save us all_.

Four and probably the worst of all, realising he was surrounded by idiots and heretics he resorted to one course; pray to the Emperor, tell Him of the coming threat if He did not know already. But the prayers did not reassure him in the slightest.

Although his own eyes and cogitators told him this planet is Terra, he is not entirely certain that it is _his_ Terra. Even a glimpse of the golden holy world could fill Cardsharp's soul with faith; faith that he was doing the right thing and that the God-Emperor watched over and guided him.

That was about half an hour ago.

 _Holy God-Emperor of Mankind, please hear my cry,_ the young adept prayed, _the world is in danger. Humanity is in danger. Please help us._ Cardsharp repeatedly sent out a call for help and even conducted the proper ceremonies as required by the Ecclesiarchy.

But he had a horrible suspicion although he was calling, no one was listening.

This blue and green planet did not reassure him. This Earth was not as…holy as the one he knew and saw in the Martian sky.

The Tech-Priest was afraid that he was alone in this.

0o0o0o

"Zatara, you're back." Black Canary smiled warmly. "Good. And…Mr Nelson?"

The famed Kent Nelson was a member of the Justice Society of America, the League's defunct predecessor. He was supposed to be a retired old man with a cane. Black Canary was instead graced with a man draped in a golden helmet and cape.

" _ **Doctor Fate."**_ The man replied, his voice in stereo which disconcerted all who listened.

"I thought you retired that moniker."

" _ **Kent Nelson did."**_ The magician quipped. _**"But Zatara's explanation indicated something serious. So serious that he thought it best I step back in."**_

"Then I take it you're are the real Doctor Fate; Nabu am I correct?" Black Canary had a hard time believing it; she was in the presence of true magical entity: Nabu, a Lord of Order.

" _ **You are."**_ The entity replied with about as much warmth as a freezer. _**"It seems my presence is most fortuitous. I have already been informed of the Chaos incursion."**_

"Do you know what it is?"

" _ **Yes."**_ Doctor Fate glared. _**"And it does not bode well for Earth."**_

"We've already heard." Black Canary gestured to the red robed adept standing at the viewport gazing silently at Earth. "Our guest here told us he is from the 41st millennium, where the Forces of Chaos are a genuine threat to humanity."

" _ **That is what concerns me…."**_ Doctor Fate glanced back to the blonde heroine. _ **"I am not so sure he is from the future. At least not from our future."**_

Black Canary shared a concerned look with Zatara. "Let's talk about this away from the others. Tell me everything."

0o0o0o

"Cardsharp are you okay?" Green Arrow asked. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. I am fine." Cardsharp did not turn to face the hero. "What news do you have?"

"Nothing. There is no evidence of Chaos incursion. Not yet anyway."

 _The Omnissiah grants us his favour….for now._ Cardsharp blinked. "We need to eliminate Calig immediately."

"How precisely do you suggest we do that?" Green Arrow raised a brow. "We have already put all areas on alert for suspicious activity."

"The risk of taint in the area is too great." Cardsharp concluded. "Chaos has been in the area too long. Waiting for something to happen is counterproductive, we need to take action."

"Recommendations?" Batman pointed.

"We undertake scorched earth protocols. I have accessed information of this current time's weapons capabilities. We need to conduct the immediate nuclear bombardment of Gotham City."

"What…."

"It is not preferable, and it puts Terra's future at risk. But it is better than having no future at all." Cardsharp frowned already calculating the sheer logistics and statistics involved with a Chaos incursion. "We may have to consider total destruction of the entire North-Eastern seaboard of the United States of America. Just to be sure."

The silence itself told Cardsharp much.

"Cardsharp, I understand that things are done a little differently where you are from." Green Arrow tried his best to sound diplomatic. "But here, that is unacceptable. We are not going to destroy a building much less a state or country."

"Those people are our responsibility." Superman straightened, a look in his eye somewhere between resentment and horror.

"You do not have the resources of the manpower to undertake such a task. Furthermore, to do so with no death is just farcical." This back and forth was pointless. Gotham needed to be purged for the good of Terra.

Cardsharp would do it himself.

But he has already tried…and to no avail.

The Tech-Priest has been having trouble accessing the nuclear systems. The codes were simple enough, he had those in a matter of minutes. The real issue was launch controls; Cardsharp could send the go-codes to the nuclear assets and put the silos on alert, but this technology was so backward it provided the system with several natural failsafe's, each relying on a human element.

Someone, somewhere needed to push _some_ button to make everything work.

The Tech-Priest could penetrate security and missile preparation up to a point, but he could not launch anything remotely.

Not yet anyway.

Wonder Woman had an unsettling gleam in her eye. "We will not abandon them to Chaos."

"I represent and organisation older than any other government on Terra at this time, we have experience in dealing with Warp monstrosities." Cardsharp faced the Amazonian, hoping his words would sink in. "There is no happy ending here, Wonder Woman. There is only lose-lose scenarios; we can lose small or lose big. If we lose small, at best we destroy a city. If we lose big, Terra will be destroyed and humanity will be extinct. I will not let that happen."

"You are talking about destroying a city." Batman spoke his words carefully. "Killing millions."

"It is better that millions are sacrificed to ensure the survival of billions." Cardsharp beeped back.

Captain Marvel bawked something awful, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. "There are innocent people down there."

"Innocence proves nothing." Cardsharp paused just enough to realise how much he sounded like an Inquisitor. "It is better to die with their souls intact and pure than risk their fall to Chaos."

"Easy for you to say." Green Arrow snarked. "You're up here."

 _Oh, Commissar Gevin would have a field day with you…_

"If that is the only thing stalling this, then send me to Gotham." Cardsharp straightened. "I am ready to die for my race. Unlike you. _Coward_." What was about to be a very brutal beat down on Cardsharp's metal laced skull was quickly defused by Batman, his presence quelled the archer's anger.

"Cardsharp, I am going to make myself very clear." Batman's voice carried an intent reminiscent of Commissar Gevin in a bad mood. The Tech-Priest instinctively searched the Dark Knight's form of a bolt pistol. "I will acknowledge your experience in this matter. But we are not going to destroy Gotham, we are not going to kill anyone. Now you can either get on board, or you can be thrown into a cell."

Cardsharp could not believe is audio sensors. These morons are going to put all of Terra at risk because they are squeamish about death. The Tech-Priest prayed, harder than he ever had that something will come to save humanity.

But the Adept feared faith was no longer sufficient.

They must have interpreted his silence as compliance. The one called Captain Atom interrupted his thought process. "I think it's best we get back on track. What can you tell us about Calig?"

For some reason Cardsharp felt comfortable around him, he had an air around him that screamed 'military.' "Calig is a servant of Chaos. Former Major of the Imperium of Man, 14th Marxian Regiment." The Tech-Priest brought up a digitised form of the traitor on the screens. "His skill set is no different to any other soldier, though his aim is above average. But he knows the ceremonies, I saw him create a Warp tear."

"What would be his next step?"

"He would have to conduct the ceremonies to create a Warp Tear and summon forth the Daemons of Chaos."

"How long would it take to do that?"

"That's the problem." Cardsharp looked upon the blue and green planet Terra which seemed unnatural not being a bright gold beacon in the void. "He should have done it by now. Perhaps he requires a relic or some kind of beacon to draw them here. The one he had was destroyed."

"Where would he find a Chaos relic?"

"I don't know, such relics are highly forbidden. I would not even know where to look…." Cardsharp's mind stalled. _Wait…_

"What is it?"

"How did I get here?" Cardsharp asked. "Not to the Watchtower, but to this time."

"We don't know, there was no scientific evidence and we're pretty certain it was not technological." Wonder Woman commented. "But there was a brief magical disturbance."

"Magical…" Cardsharp muttered, his mind churning through the possibilities.

 _= Analysis: Magic - Chaos Relic - Warp Tear =_

 _= Conclusion: Chaos Sorcery =_

Chaos works both ways, generally a Warp tear is split between the Immaterium and the Materium. If Cardsharp and the heretics ended up here, in this time, that must mean there is an anchor to Chaos in the area. "Where did I arrive?"

"Gotham Museum." Batman followed.

"Does it have cameras?" Cardsharp sent a small surge through the connection cable to the cogitator.

"There are, I can pull it up." Batman reached for the computer. "It will just-"

"Uh Batman," Flash interrupted, "he's already found it."

Batman looked up to the main view screen and he could indeed see Cardsharp accessing the Museum security footage. "How does he keep-" A commlink buzzed in his ear. _"Batman, it's Robin."_ The boy whispered hurriedly over the comm-link. _"I know you are neck deep in something, but we have a problem."_

0o0o0o

Cardsharp was appalled at the state of the security, and the quality of the cameras; half of them weren't even working.

 _= Accessing Gotham Museum Security Archives =_

 _= Downloading footage =_

Cardsharp ruffled through the footage at blinding speed stopping only when he saw the figure of a woman in a black catsuit.

 _= Status: Identifying subject =_

 _= Result: Subject Identified. Kyle, Selina. Born 4 August 1980. Alias 'Catwoman'. Professional thief =_

 _Track subject._

 _= Tracking =_ The footage shifted multiple views trying to get the best shots of the thief as she slinked around the museum. He fast-forwarded through her energetic heist, pausing only when she rounded on a unique jewel.

She picked up the jewel and held it in the air for all to see.

Cardsharp paused, gazing at the eight-pointed black and red emerald.

 _A Chaos relic…._ A flash of light emanated from the jewel engulfing the cameras in static and white light. A few mere seconds later, Cardsharp saw as he along with several traitor guardsman crashed through the skylight above her. The rest was history.

He rewound the tape focusing instead on Catwoman holding the Chaos relic in her hands, a whimsical smile on her face. It was a smile Cardsharp had seen before, when he was fighting in the Subsector Marxian campaign; it was of madness…

"What are you looking for?" Superman asked.

"That." Cardsharp zoomed in on the paused footage focusing on the small jewel in Catwoman's hands.

0o0o0o

Both Selina and Calig lay naked on top of her bed, their bodies seizing in ecstasy, their minds ignorant of how much time has passed. "Wow…" Selina breathed, she never felt so…. _good_.

"Wow." Calig echoed, completely content in the experiences they both shared. Hardly the kind of compassionate love making he heard in fairy tales. There was a lot more biting and scratching and blood.

And he loved it.

"So, that was seriously your first time in years?" Selina propped her head up on her shoulder.

"Yeah." Jeez Calig could not ever remember the last time he was with a woman. Years... _decades_. Imperial Guard was finicky like that. Less than six months with Chaos and they drop the most beautiful woman he had, and most likely will ever see.

… _Thank you Slaanesh._ The former major knew there were perks for allying with deities of the Warp, but not even he expected this. _I know you are not the first patron I subscribed too, but after this I'll have a dozen sacrifices with your name on it by the end of the week._

Calig was not stupid, he knew a borderline possessed, Warp-addled mind when he saw it, he was on Kant from the very beginning and saw what happened to the weak ones. This Selina was definitely one of them. _Hardly true consent, but you know what? Who cares, she'll probably be dead soon enough and if that doesn't happen well she will likely become a tool of pleasure and sacrifice to the Deamonettes._

"Well now that our personal errands have been satisfied," Selina smiled as she pulled a red rubied object from her bedside. "I was instructed to give this to you. I don't know how to make this thing work, but I was told you do."

"By the Gods…" Calig reached out and accepted the object…sure it was more shiny and expensive than all before it, but he held a Chaos Relic alright. "Where did you get this?"

"At the museum, it shone a bright light and then these guys fell though the skylight." Selina shrugged, making her breasts bounce.

 _So…this was what brought us here,_ Calig realised, _this is the thing that sucked us out of the Warp. I knew the Chaos Gods had favour on us. No, on me._

"So you know what to do?" Selina interrupted his train of thought.

Calig looked back at her and felt an excitement churn within him, though it no longer had anything to do with her. "I sure do."

0o0o0o

Batman stepped away from the group. "What is it?"

Robin took a deep breath. _"Just got off the call with Gordon. Simon Stagg, you know that scumbag industrialist?"_

"What about him?"

" _He's been murdered, about 24 hours ago."_ Robin's voice communicated the gravity of the situation.

"Thanks for the heads up." Batman turned to the fiasco in the Watchtower. "Unfortunately, I'm in the middle of something big here."

" _You don't understand, there is more. Forensics did a sweep, they found the identity of the killer."_ Robin spoke gravely. _"It's Selina Kyle."_

"Impossible." Batman left no shred of doubt. "There's been a mistake. It's some kind of frame up."

" _It wasn't Clayface or some kind of doppelganger."_ Robin whispered. _"…Bruce, it was her. She killed Stagg."_

Batman stared into space for what seemed like months, when he finally spoke his mouth was really dry. "Where is she?"

" _I don't know, I've looked everywhere."_ Robin sounded frustrated.

"Obviously not everywhere." Batman concluded. "Head back to the cave."

" _But I-"_

"Catwoman might actually be part of my investigation, she could be dangerous. From now on, this is League business." Batman ordered testily. "Head back to the cave and stay there until I call you. I'll be down when I can."

0o0o0o

"That's what brought you here?" Captain Marvel squinted his eyes.

"A 97.9% chance, yes." Cardsharp allowed the statistic to speak for itself. _Great,_ Cardsharp's third processor jammed, _just what I need. A Chaos relic in the hands of a criminal._

"It looks so small." Captain Marvel gazed in wonder.

"They usually are." Cardsharp shrugged, trying to analyse any further leads. "Small and unimpressive things naturally draw the least amount of attention."

"What will happen next?"

"Calig will try and find her. The relic will call to him. He will take the relic and preform whatever ritual he needs to open a Warp tear."

"Okay." Captain Atom asked. "What do we do?"

"Find Selina Kyle. Destroy the relic. Execute her along with Calig." Cardsharp nodded grimly.

"We've been through this." Captain Atom crossed his arms. "We are not killing anyone."

"She has been in too close proximity to a Chaos Relic." Cardsharp's vox hummed. "She is already lost."

Captain Marvel's face flashed with anger. "You don't know that for-"

"Enough. We're wasting time." Batman's voice was shaken, yet it commanded respect nonetheless. "Cardsharp," Batman asked, "why are you so adamant about Catwoman's death? What happens to people when exposed to such a relic?"

"Corruption." Cardsharp mulled it over, his internal systems flickering through the possibilities. "How severe depends on who the person is and how long the Relic has been in their possession. It can vary anywhere from enhancement of their basic instincts, affecting behaviour and cognitive function, to full blown daemonic possession."

"Possession…"Batman mumbled. "Can they act differently? Do things they have never done before?"

"Of course." Cardsharp narrowed an optic camera. _Where was this 'Dark Knight' going with this?_

Batman's tone was kept carefully neutral. "Can they commit murder even though it is not in their nature?"

"Of course." Cardsharp scoffed; that was quite obvious.

"Batman, what's wrong?" Superman finally asked.

"Robin just called me." Batman's fist clenched so hard his knuckles audibly cracked. "Simon Stagg was murdered. Evidence points to Catwoman." The very information brought everyone soberly quiet. Batman looked at Cardsharp licking his lips dry, "If Chaos does have a grip on her, what are Catwoman's chances?" There was something in his voice, something….hopeful?

A Tech-Priest does not deal in hope, Cardsharp spoke on what he knew. "Selina Kyle is a thief with no knowledge or defence against Chaos, and she has been with close proximity with a Chaos relic for over 48 hours." Cardsharp's face contorted in a flurry of frustration. "Chances are she has already been consumed by the relic in both mind and soul. Executing her is the safest option."

"Wait." Canary appeared from behind them, flanked by Zatara. "Perhaps the good Doctor Fate has an alternative." The blonde heroine gestured to someone behind her. Cardsharp finally turned to face a….man (for lack of a better word) draped in gold. Even though it looked human, everything about it screamed sorcery. No something worse…something….from the Warp.

 _= Status: Scanning Doctor Fate =_

 _= Error: Doctor Fate cannot be identified =_

"What. Is. That?" _Heresy,_ Cardsharp paled, _heresy everywhere._

"A Chaos expert."

"Oh _really_?" Cardsharp snapped, somewhere a subdermal chip fried itself; heretics, sorcerers, xenos and now Warp creatures. The Tech-Priest would shoot them all, but he had not yet activated all his weapon systems. Besides, something still human inside him said that he could not win against this Doctor Fate. "Then tell me 'expert'; am I wrong in my findings?"

The thing known as Fate paused, whether it be for effect or because it was thinking no one knew, but when it spoke, its words were heartless and stern _**"…his proposal does have merit."**_

"Fate?!" Captain Marvel blanched.

"Enough." Batman's word quietened the room, again Cardsharp was reminded of Commissar Gevin. Batman kept his face neutral, but the Tech-Priest had a distinct feeling of where this was going. The fool was so adamant about not killing; he was going to save her, even if it put all of Terra at risk.

Black Canary interrupted his train of thought. "Is it possible that relic is the only one?"

"Possible, but unlikely. Relics have been known to be found in groups." Cardsharp frowned at the likelihood. "However, I would not know; I do not have the ability to analyse dormant Warp energy."

" _ **Fortunately I do."**_ Fate sent shivers up Cardsharp's mechanical neural net.

"We need to search that Museum." Captain Atom concluded.

Batman nodded. "Okay. Doctor Fate you head to the Gotham Museum. Canary, Arrow you go with them. Search through the exhibits and destroy everything you can find."

"I'm going to search for Catwoman." Batman turned to the rest of the League. "Everyone else stay close to Captain Marvel and Zatara. If magic is what we are dealing with then we have to remain together. Red Tornado, you stay up hear and coordinate us. If something goes wrong I want all of you to mobilise."

"And what is to become of me?" Cardsharp asked.

" _You_ are going back to medical." Batman ordered, just when those to xenos called Hawkman and Hawkwoman were about to grab him, Cardsharp sent a small electrical surge through his skin, shocking them. Not enough to incapacite, but they jerked away in frustration. The one known as Hawkwoman reached for a very unpleasant looking mace at her hip.

"I may not be at 100%, but I am combat effective." Cardsharp pointed. "This is my mission, I must see it through."

"I don't think so." Batman glared. "You are too much of a risk and you have blood on your hands."

The Tech-Priest want to tell Batman where he can go shove his risk, but Cardsharp paused. "So I take it you would rather leave me here alone with your precious Abominable Intelligence?"

 _= CRITICAL PRIORITY 1A-D: Destroy the Abominable Intelligence. All other priorities rescinded =_

 _= Status: Abominable Intelligence 'Red Tornado' analysed. Weakness: Discharge to diencephalons analog via exo-casing with sub-derma phenol-chloroform =_

Red Tornado that heretical abomination dared to speak. "I have analysed your attacks Enginseer Cardsharp, you will not succeed again." The voice was jagged and damaged matching the injuries along its facial structure.

 _= Operational Efficiency 46.9%. Successful Termination of Abominable Intelligence: 54.6%. Successful Repair of Abominable Intelligence: 11.2% =_

 _I'll take those odds. All I need is one shot…_

 _++Believe me you soulless construct, I know how to kill you++_ Cardsharp beeped. _++You and me, right now. By the Ominissiah you shall not see this day's end ++_

With the exception of Red Tornado, no-one knew what he said. But the League had a sneaking suspicion. "Perhaps it would be a better idea for Cardsharp to tag along with us." Green Arrow chuckled nervously.

"He does have knowledge of this Chaos, he knows how to fight them." Canary supported.

The thing called Fate, uncaring of its surroundings, provided commentary as if it was suggesting if it will rain later. _**"Prior experience in fighting Chaos is a highly sought after commodity in this situation."**_

Cardsharp will not admit his gratitude to that Warp creature, but it was good that at least some of these 'heroes' acknowledged the Tech-Priest's experience as important. Batman turned to Superman and Wonder Woman communicating through their looks, or in the Dark Knight's case; the depth of his frown.

"Very well." Wonder Woman spoke turning to Green Arrow and Black Canary. "Take Cardsharp with you."

0o0o0o

 _Thank the Omnissiah for small mercies_ , Cardsharp prayed; there were _**five**_ of the blasted things hiding the museum. Doctor Fate, as disturbing as the sorcerer was, made incredibly short work neutralising the magical heretical instruments. It did not stop Cardsharp from crushing the heretical forgings under his metal legs with immense satisfaction.

 _ **"This is most troubling,"**_ The thing called Fate spoke, _**"how is it that so many Chaos relics came to this world without anyone's knowledge or notice?"**_

"Beats me," Green Arrow shrugged leaning against one of the priceless jewels, "I'm just watching you at work."

"This museum makes mention that this collection belonged to some deceased billionaire." Canary eyed a ruby that rivalled Cullinan Diamond in size.

"Who?" Cardsharp clicked.

"Someone I've never heard of." Canary checked the identifying plaque of the ruby. "Someone called Victor Adger."

 _ **"Whoever he was,"**_ Fate growled, _**"he owned a terrible and dangerous collection. He would have had a lot to answer for had he still been alive."**_

Cardsharp made a note of the name for his records, the adept hesitate a sigh of relief. This incursion into the past has been stressful to an unpleasant literal degree; his internal circuits were uncomfortably hot. He almost wished he was back in the Sub-Sector Marxian Campaign…..almost.

"Now there is one left." Cardsharp concluded. The mission still stood: find Callig, find Kyle, kill them, destroy the relic, save humanity. Another day, another victory in the Emperor's glorious service. To hell with Batman, and the rest of the Justice League. This war has no place for bleeding hearts.

And speaking of Batman…. The strange man came into the museum. Flanked by him were the ones called Zatara and Captain Atom. He did not look happy, but Cardsharp had concluded that was his default state. He held something in his hand.

"Can you identify this?"

Cardsharp conducted a swift scan. "This is a piece of armour, standard Imperium issue. Based on the Chaos insignia and markings, it was Calig's. Where did you find this?"

"In Catwoman's apartment. It was empty, no relic, no Calig, no Catwoman."

"Then Calig has the Chaos Relic." Cardsharp felt sick, the relief he felt was fried, electrocuted and boiled out of his subroutines. "Then it is over. We have to cut our losses and move in with nuclear bombardment." _If only I could get through the launch controls….._

"Wait a minute." Green Arrow attempted a wave of calm. "If Calig has the relic, then where is the Warp Tear. Where are the Daemons? Zatara, Fate, you sense anything?"

Both sorcerers shook their head in the negative. "You see. The Warp Tear has not opened yet. We still have time."

"That makes no sense, if he has the relic, why has he not conducted the ceremonies." Cardsharp blinked.

"Perhaps it does not work." The dark detective brainstormed.

" _ **There is a possibility,"**_ Fate interrupted, _**"the ceremonies may not be enough. Perhaps he needs access to a strong magical current. A lay line if you will."**_

"Where would he find one of those?" Batman raised a brow.

" _ **There are many, but if time is of the essence, and it is, then this Calig will select the closest one."**_ Fate suggested. _**"Roanoke Island."**_

Batman reached for an earpiece. "Team, suit up we are regrouping. Tornado, you stay in the Watchtower and keep us advised. Everyone else, head to Roanoke Island."

0o0o0o0

Hope you enjoyed.

Review as always.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey guys,

Another chapter. I know its strange to have two in such a short time, especially with my track record. But it seemed appropriate to get this out to you guys.

I should mention that this chapter is a little longer than usual. But that is because these is so much content. We are at chapter 7 and we still have not progressed to the main Young Justice Storyline. That being said I want to take my time to get it right.

Thanks for your support and kind words.

Just as an FYI, this chapter might get a little weird so brace yourselves.

I hope you enjoy it fellas.

Chapter 7

It was approaching midnight. The moon was aptly orange and there was not a cloud in the sky. The main road along the Interstate 63 Eastbound was largely silent with very few on the road. Out of all the generic cars and trucks, only one stood out.

Calig and the woman known as Selina travelled in a rather fancy vehicle, the Chaos relic sitting between them. Calig had never seen, much less heard of a 'Ferrari 458 2009 Italia'. But with the post leather interior, smooth construction, the sheer engine power, the reclining hood and the dead former owner in the boot, Calig realised he could get used to this. It was exhilarating, it got his blood pumping.

He was almost red-lining the engine at 330 kilometres per hour. They left Gotham City about six hours ago and Calig could smell where they had to go….just a little further.

"So we're almost there?" Kyle asked.

Calig dared to glance at her. The woman's covered in a black leather like material but it was so tight and form thinking it left very little to the imagination. "Yeah…just a little further…I can sense it."

"Hmm." Selina purred. "So what's the plan?"

"We call in the cavalry. We win." Calig smirked. "I get a shot at Deamonhood."

"And me?" Selina raised a brow.

"Heh," Calig mused, "you get a front row seat to the end of the world. And all your dreams will come true."

"The end of the world?!" Selina's voice hitched. Calig blinked, that did not sound like the sensual Selina he knew…there something there.

"That a problem?"

"Oh no," Selina's smile returned her voice back to its seductive self, "just wondering what the point will be of stealing if there is no one is around to try and stop me."

Calig nodded, whatever _that_ was vanished. "There are plenty of things to steal in this galaxy. Trust me on that."

Selina was indeed beautiful, and Calig enjoyed her so; she was the one who killed the owner of the sweet car he was driving. But now he was starting to see changes in her, one could almost call it 'multiple personality'. Calig has seen it before during the initial spreading of Chaos of Kant, a form of resistance if you will. Like the mind and soul were trying to wake up to the reality.

The 'Eye of Chaos' has been feeding off her and feeding her for a little while, he has begun to notice a few changes in her. The eyes in particular have developed a slight shade of lavender and her skin colour has become a few shades more pale.

Whatever that was changing her on the inside was now starting to alter her on the outside. It was quite striking.

She played her role beautifully, but she had one more role to play.

 _It'll be sad when she does,_ Calig shrugged, _but I'm sure I will have all eternity to get over it when I become a god._

Just a little further….

0o0o0o

Cardsharp was comfortable flying, he spent many months strapped to Imperium war birds during the Subsector Marxian Campaign. But being encompassed in a green ball of light while flying at high speed was not a method of travel he was used to.

Truth be told he was kind of freaking out.

As Roanoke Island was now the target, the Justice League along with Cardsharp made a move to get there post haste. They were currently over Norfolk, Virginia.

Fate, Zatanna and Flash zipped ahead. Trailing behind was the Green Lantern known as 'John' holding Batman, Green Arrow, and Black Canary. Flying next to them was Superman, Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel.

Cardsharp was stuck with the second Green Lantern who called himself 'Numero Uno' or 'Hal'. With him was Aquaman. Flanking them was Hawkman, Hawkwoman and Captain Atom. That abomination Red Tornado, was thankfully out of sight in the Watchtower, but never out of Cardsharp's mind.

This already stressful venture was getting more unpleasant as time passed.

Cardsharp had since given up arguing with the league. They were adamant about the 'no killing' rule, he merely agreed albeit with some reluctance. But it was an act; the moment he got the opportunity the Tech-Priest would kill both Selina Kyle and Major Calig with bolt round to the skull.

In the meantime, Cardsharp considered it a good distraction to work on repairing his equipment.

 _++Oh blessed Machine Spirit, creation of the Machine God ++_ Cardsharp tinkered with KA64's internal circuitry. _++ Forgive your servant for his shortcomings, and grant him your mercy and favour in the battle to come++_

 _Establish connection to KA64._

 _= Status: Connecting=_

 _=Error: Connection failed. KA64 offline =_

Calig's fire and the travel through the Warp did not treat the Tech-Priest's servo-skulls kindly. KA64…Pardon took it especially bad. Cardsharp tinkered, recited prayers, even replaced one of the internal sub-cogitator chip with one of his own, still nothing worked. But a Tech-Priest is not meant to be dismayed, rather a loyal follower of the Cult of the Machine should take it a challenge. Cardsharp decided to clear out Pardon's internal CPU and reboot its battery using his own internal system.

 _++ Oh blessed Machine Spirit++_ Cardsharp whispered, _++ May thine humble works heal thee, may thine offerings please thee, may thine prayers sate thee. In the name of the Machine God; live and fight by my side ++_

Pardon's lights flickered on with a sporadic hum.

 _= Status: Connection with KA64 established=_

Pardon jumped out of the Tech-Priest's hands and hovered around his head, beeping and clicking.

 _I missed you too, KA64._ Cardsharp allowed a small smile. KA63, already activated previously, joined its brother hovering just above their Tech-Priest.

Even though they and this 'Justice League' were heading to Roanoke Island, a death sentence to be sure, the young Tech-Priest tried to savour this moment. When he was in the Subsector Marxian Campaign, after Master Kyriz's death, these small moments were all that held him together.

But even now, trapped in the past with heretical 'heroes', Cardsharp's mind turned not just to memories with Kyriz, but of Lieutenant Dan and Captain Melak and the rest of the 4th Company of the 94th Tallarn Desert Raiders. Are they safe? Are they alright? Did they win the battle? Has victory in the Subsector Marxian Campaign finally been obtained after six gruelling months? Who is looking after the Machine Spirits?

Cardsharp actually regretted that upon Dan's death, all he cared about were the broken Machine Spirits. The Tallarn Squad Leader was always the nicest and kindest out of the 'fleshies'. He missed their poker nights, brief though they were. Cardsharp was saddened that the poor man and the men under his command will probably not get a proper burial.

The Tech-Priest even missed Commissar Gevin. The old, scarred goat of a man was intimidating to be sure, but the Adept missed the man and his certainty. Gevin would walk forward confident of victory; he would know what to do in this accursed, warp induced situation (apart from shooting every member of the Justice League in the head….twice).

Cardsharp realised he was homesick.

The irony was not lost. After Master Kyriz's death all the Acting Senior Tech-Priest wanted was to get away as far as he could from Subsector Marxian. Now that he was here in this time, this place, this Terra, all Cardsharp wanted was to go back.

The Machine God and the Omnissiah, if nothing else, has a sense of humour.

0o0o0o

Flying about two hundred meters away, Batman and several members of the league watched in awe.

Seeing the red-robed boy look upon the two floating skulls with a kind glee normally seen with children when playing with a puppy or kitten was disconcerting to the league. Especially Captain Marvel who looked really nervous.

He worked fast, Batman had to at least give him that. The Dark Knight along with Cyborg, tried to get the blasted contraptions that were with the Tech-Priest working, but to no avail. It took Cyborg several hours just to understand one of the nano-chips they found in Cardsharp and it already violated several known rules about quantum computing.

Now here is this boy, whose brain was in his chest, a sensory and signals network that would make the NSA blush, and packed with enough bionics to ensure he would last ten lifetimes (and bullet proof to boot). _He_ was playing around with technology that half of Wayne Enterprises and all of Luthor Corp would, respectively metaphorically and literally, kill to get even a glimpse of it.

Being ever paranoid and vigilant, Bruce Wayne tried to keep at least a sample of the technology for future study, but he underestimated Cardsharp's capabilities. Now he is left with nothing but rigoursly documented notes.

Those floating skulls, or servo-skulls as the Tech-Priest insisted, looked rather unpleasant to say the least; especially the one with a Gatling gun sticking out of its mouth. Batman actually did his best to sabotage them so that they could not be reactivated. That stalled the Adept by about five minutes at most.

Most of Cardsharp's internal systems were back online, those spindly mechandrites were quickly integrated back into his form. With the two servo-skulls back in action and fully armed, and the Omnissian Power Axe back in his mechanical hands, it was only a matter of time until he got the 'eradicator ray' back to snuff. The combined arsenal would make him a walking tank capable of taking down a small army of soldiers.

Batman was at least confident that Tech-Priest would not use those weapons on the league as long as the Chaos invasion was imminent or in progress. The real question is what he would do after they defeated Chaos. And what's more, what dark events will occur that will transform Earth into the Imperium of Man. _What have we become?_

"What are you thinking?" Wonder Woman enquired.

"You know what I am thinking." Batman never took his eyes off the Tech-Priest.

"He is from a different world. He's not a vigilante, or a warrior; he's a soldier." Wonder Woman explained. "He does not know any better."

"Robin, Speedy, Kid Flash and Aqualad are soldiers too. Good ones too." Batman responded. The Green Lantern, John Stewart laughed.

"Pfft. Please." Steward chuffed. "Don't compare them to Cardsharp. They voluntarily wears tights and beat untrained thugs for fun. Cardsharp is a conscripted child soldier in a galactic war with aliens and demons that has been going on for ten millennia."

"Are questioning Robin's competence?" Batman seethed.

"Screw that," Green Arrow glared, "you taking crap about my boy? Maybe we should get Aquaman over here."

"Don't get me wrong, they're good kids but they would have been killed or executed within the first five minutes on the battlefield." Stewart shook his head. "Frankly, they're cowboys who do things their own way. I wonder where they got _that_ from."

"Perhaps." Batman acknowledged ignoring the obvious barb. "What concerns me is that he is unwilling to learn that there is a better way."

"He's a _teenager_." Canary smirked.

"His first idea was to nuke the eastern seaboard, and I don't think anything has transpired that has changed his mind." Green Arrow interrupted.

"He's an _angry_ and _shell-shocked_ teenager." Black Canary moderated.

"He's a cold-blood killer." Captain Marvel piped. "He should be in jail."

"When I was in the Marines, I killed for my country. So too did Captain Atom." John Stewart flashed his green ring. "You going to lock us up too?" Whether it was a matter of defending the new arrival or daring Marvel to try was left up to debate.

"T-t…that was different." Marvel blushed.

"Is it?" Stewart frowned. "During the Cold War, it was the Ruskies and now it's the Taliban. Both were and still are considered the devil in this country. One that needs to be destroyed utterly."

"The USSR perfected mass murder on a global scale. Stalin's Russia killed more people than the Germans ever could." Superman explained. "The Taliban are just as bad if not worse."

"Let's not forget; Stalin's Russia won World War 2. Not America, not Britain, not France; _Russia_." Stewart's green eyes narrowed. "And the Taliban are the reason Afghanistan never became part of Soviet Union. While America was sitting on the fence throwing mud, the Taliban were in the mud trying to fight the Red Army."

"I'm not going to debate history." Batman interrupted. "If Cardsharp came from is truly bad as J'onn says, I am not comfortable letting him walk around with an arsenal."

"We can trust him. I believe Cardsharp has honour." Wonder Woman shook her head. "His code demanded he help us."

"His code also demanded the destruction of Red Tornado." Superman raised a brow. "His code considers aliens, heretics and mutants abominations to be destroyed. By his interpretation, that is an awfully long list of people which includes all members of the Justice League."

A certain silence hung amongst the passing wind. "It's settled. When this is over, we take him down." Batman concluded. "We strip him of his cybernetic components, at least the ones that won't kill him and then we rehabilitate him."

Now they knew they were far enough away from Cardsharp that he could not hear them. He had advanced hearing to be sure but its range was limited to about one hundred and twenty-three meters; Cyborg could confirm that much.

What they could not know was that the recently reactive KA64 was a Monotask variant servo-skull, specialised in advanced targeting and tracking. A handy little subroutine that allowed it to quickly locate targets, but had the added bonus of having advanced microphones and cameras, and a rarely discussed ability to lip-read. Unlike Cardsharp, dear Pardon had a range of about one kilometre.

And thanks to the link between tech-priest and servo-skull, Cardsharp heard everything they said.

And a plan began to form in the Tech-Priest's mind…

0o0o0o

"Shame about the car." Selina looked back at the crashed vehicle.

"It served a purpose." Calig mused. "Come on, a little further." The dark forest surrounding them had an eerily vibe to them. This forest was located at a place called Roanoke Island, and it reeked of something supernatural. Good or bad; there was magic here. It was perfect.

Finally the forest parted to a series of two paths intersecting perpendicular to each other.

The crossroads.

Calig could not recall seeing any paths leading to this location, otherwise he would not have dumped the Ferrari. Stood at the centre of the crossroads, sensing the power that came from here. A red glow was emanating from the relic in his hand.

 _This was it._ Calig grinned triumphantly. He mentally rehearsed the ceremonies and was ready, but if he was in the past, he would need a little extra 'oomph' to get the Dark Gods into this plane.

"So what's the next plan?" Selina asked.

 _Speaking of which._ Calig smirked. "I'm going to need something to give the warp tear…life."

Calig took one of the sharpened edge of the relic and pierced her abdomen. Blood oozed out of her stomach, then he began digging.

Selina groaned in ecstasy. "Oooh. Oooh. Ooooooh!"

Calig paused only slightly, but kept searching. But now Selina was starting to move as well, her whole body thrusting against the sharp implement in her belly. "Oooooh. Oh God. Ooooh! Oh God! Ooooh. Aaaaaaah. Aaaaaah. Oh God! Oh yeah, there, right there. Aaaaah. Oooooh. Aaaaah. Oh God! Oh yes! YES! Oh! Oh! OH! OH GOD!"

"Stop that." Calig ordered.

"What?" Selina chuckled, even with blood all over her she still looked amazing. "I thought this is what all guys want?"

"Well it's distracting." Calig muttered slightly embarrassed.

"You didn't seem to mind when you were at my place." Selina puffed out her cheeks like a petulant child.

"Look!" Calig actually looked up to Selina. "This is very important, just stop with the sounds and stop moving."

"Fine." Selina rolled her eyes. "Men, selfish as always."

Calig shook his head, muttering under his breath, "Fucking Slaaneshi cultists."

"Been there, did that." Selina cackled. "You loved it."

"Shut up."

 _Blood for the Blood God indeed…_

0o0o0o

The Justice League were just above Roanoke Island. Fate and Zatara were scanning nearby searching for the disturbance. They seemed particularly on edge.

"They have not found him." Aquaman shifted. "Are they sure he is here?"

"Major Calig is here." Cardsharp scanned the earth below. The whole island looked dead and silent, the place just screamed corrupted.

The Speedster buzzed over the comms. _"Hey guys, Flash here."_

"Batman, go."

"I've found him, he's here. Catwoman too. He…Oh god…" Flash's voice went silent.

"What?" Batman urged. "What happened?"

"Oh god, he just performed a hysterectomy on her." Flash sounded nauseated. "Batman he just cut out her womb!"

" _ **I've found him!"**_ Doctor Fate flew ahead, the rest of league in tail. As they got closer, Cardsharp could feel dark energy ebb toward him like waves. Calig's voice carried into the air.

" _Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Khorne R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!"_

" _Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Slaanesh R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!"_

" _Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Tzeench R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!"_

" _Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Nurgle R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!_ "

"He has begun the ceremonies." Zatara paled.

"There he is." Cardsharp located the heretical guardsmen, he looked more twisted than ever. In his hand was the cursed relic, in the other was something…fleshy…and wet. "Stop him right now!"

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" Superman called out.

Calig looked up at them, and immediately zeroed in on the only familiar face. "Cog-boy! I am so glad you could make it!"

" _ **Give up now Calig."**_ Doctor Fate commanded. _**"This world is not fated to fall today. Order shall be maintained."**_

Calig seemed just as surprised and horrified as Cardsharp was. The jagged relic hovering just across the sacrificial womb. "What in all the Warp are you?"

 _He stalled. Now's my chance._

 _= Yellow Alert: Standby =_

 _Target Calig using ballistic mechandrites._

 _= Target Locked =_

Cardsharp was never more adamant about a command: _Fire._

 _= Status: Firing =_

The two mechandrites instantly snapped into action firing several bursts

 _= Error =_

 _What the -?!_ The Tech-Priest flinched as his weapons ricocheted off the green shield and were ultimately absorbed.

The shield, Green Lantern's _bloody, cursed, heretical_ shield blocked his fire from escaping. The Tech-Priest never expected it to work both ways. _No. No. No! NO! NO!_

Calig seemed to snap out of his trance and focused back on the Tech-Priest. "Ready to meet your new god?!" Fate sent a beam of bright and terrifying light toward Calig. But it was too late.

 _May the Machine God forgive me._ Cardsharp prayed, knowing full well his God would be completely justified in doing the exact opposite.

The traitorous guardsman brought the sharp dagger like edges into the flesh held in his hand.

And then _everything_ went to _**shit.**_

The sky turned **red.**

The ground turned **black.**

The water rained **up.**

A hellish light split the air **below** them.

A sliver of **something** appeared in the void.

All **hell** broke loose.

And what **crawled out** ….

 _Oh Ominissah save us all._

0o0o0o

" _You are not welcome freak!"_ A man threw something at Superman.

" _Yeah, fuck off back to Lego land you prick!"_ Another laughed.

"Don't be afraid." Superman tried to calm them down. "I'm here to help."

" _Help? Help!"_ A woman giggled. _"Don't you know that this is all your fault? You are a walking beacon for trouble. And you remain on Earth?!"_

" _This world does not need a Mister Goody-two-shoes or a big dumb flying Miss Daisy."_

"If you could just-"

" _No one cares, man!"_ A man sniffed. _"Sorry alien, considering you aren't even from here. Talk about an illegal alien am I right?!"_

"I'm trying…"

" _Face it_ _ **xeno,**_ _"_ another man, one who looked rotten and festering, _"no matter how hard you try you just won't fit in here. This place will never be your home, and these people will never be your family, Clark."_

That tore it. Supreman had enough, he remembered; the void, the warp tear everything. This is an illusion; which meant he could cut loose. He charged up his eyes for a massive blast. "I don't have time for this."

Only nothing happen. They just laughed, and laughed and laughed. _"Defeat me with heat beams? Are you crazy?"_

" _ **Bad news xeno,"**_ the rotten old man coughed up something vile, _**"a hero who is scared of green rocks is not a hero."**_

"Kyptonite, but there is none of that any….where." Superman stared in horror as the entire ground was made of the green mineral.

" _Thank you for letting me in."_ He dared to look up at the rotten old man who was only an inch or so away from him, he could smell his putrid breath. _ **"Welcome to the family, son."**_

0o0o0o

Katar Hol first met Shayera Thol on patrol on Thanagar. She was the most beautiful person he ever met. He worked at it over a period of weeks, but he finally managed to convince her to go out with him. For just one date.

It was a bit of a disaster. The reservation was in the wrong name, for the wrong date at the wrong time. How could that have happened?

The chilled Thanagarian crab was actually frozen, he nearly broke his teeth trying to eat it.

To top it all off, he spilled a special Octavia wine all over her. Octavian wines have a notorious galactic history of being almost impossible to wash out. The pigment seeped into her skin, it took months for it to be naturally removed. There is still a little stain, one that can be mistake for a birthmark, on her right hip.

But despite the catastrophe, things managed to work out. They got married on Thanagar, it was the happiest day of his life.

Any all of that came crashing down around him.

" _I'm sorry Katar, but I just don't love you anymore."_ Hawkwoman spoke softly.

"No!" Hawkman cried, "I can't believe it, I won't!"

" _I'm afraid so."_ Hawkwoman began to walk away. _"Goodbye Katar."_ She was stopped by strong but shaking grip on her ankle.

"No! I can't believe it!" Katar fell to his knees. "We love each other! We have been married for six years. We were going to have children."

" _Oh but I am having children."_ Shayera Thal whispered cryptically.

"W-what?"

" _I said I am having children."_ Hawkwoman turned to reveal her pregnant belly.

"No…." Katar cried.

Shayera smiled sadly. _**"It's just not going to be your child."**_

0o0o0o

Green Arrow was completely confused. "What the hell happened? Where am I?"

" _Bad news boy, you're dead."_ A voice called. Green Arrow knocked an arrow and spun around.

Robert Henry Queen sat on a comfy fur lined chair, sipping a iced gin and tonic.

"Dad?" Oliver Queen was completely confused.

" _At least you can remember your old man."_ Queen Snr mumbled as he took a swig from his drink, his voice contemptuous and annoyed. _"Still have an obsession with Robin Hood I see. Moria is going to be_ _ **so**_ _proud."_

"Where's mom?" Oliver looked around the room. It was the exact same room they stayed in during their safari in Nigeria all those years ago. A fire burned in a nearby hearth bathing the room in eerily light.

" _Oh don't you remember?"_ The old man rolled his eyes. _"She's dead; mauled by a lion that you did not kill when you had the opportunity."_

"I didn't mean to do it." Oliver paled.

" _I suppose that makes things better."_ Queen Snr continued drinking.

"Dad, I tried…I-I'm a hero now. I'm with the Justice League. I-"

" _Son, shut the_ _ **fuck**_ _up and take a seat."_ Robert gestured to a similar matching chair next to him. Oliver tried to resist, but in the presence of his father…he felt so small. He reluctantly took it next to him, in dull silence. Queen Snr said nothing the only sounds were the crackling of the fire and the sipping of his gin and tonic. After what seemed like hours, the spectre spoke.

" _Son, I must say you have screwed the pooch on this one, like you do with anything else."_ The father's words cut Oliver deeply.

"..I-I know dad." Oliver stuttered. "But I'm trying to make it right. I'm a hero now I help people."

" _Oh yes, Green Arrow, modern day Robin Hood, whoopty fucking do_." The father waved his index finger is a circle. _"What a crock of shit."_

"But, dad I-"

" _Son, if you really believed that shit, you would have liquidated the company and spent your days robbing rich people."_ Robert Henry Queen barked. _"Instead you are fighting a bunch of costumed retards while partying out in family mansion."_

"I don't do that anymore. I've been dry for ten years."

" _Oh right, you are a straight as an arrow."_ Robert chuckled seemingly savouring the pun. _"Let me tell you something boy, people don't change. You were an addict then, you were an addict now. You just changed the drug."_

"I-"

" _Everything you have done means nothing. You are no Superman, you are no Green Lantern and you are not Batman. You are Oliver Queen, billionaire fuck up."_ Robert Queen reached for something next to his chair and pulled out a bottle of whisky and a crystal glass. _"So why don't you just sit back crack this bad boy open_ _ **and enjoy the end of the world."**_

Oliver felt like vomiting. It was true, he was a fraud and failure. There was nothing he could do, and nothing mattered.

He shakily reached for the whisky and began to pour a glass….

0o0o0o

"Tom…"

" _Please…"_

"Tom Chandler?" John knelt down. "Oh my god, Tom."

" _Somebody please help me."_ The man was bleeding from his abdomen and his legs. _"Somebody please stay…"_

"Don't worry Tom, I going to get you help, just don't move."

" _John…"_ The bleeding man cried. _"Why didn't you help me?"_

"I tried... Tom." John Stewart tried to comfort him, but he slapped him away with bloody hands. "I tried so hard."

" _What about the old code?! 'Leave no man behind', do you even remember that?!"_ The man sobbed, his tears running black and viscous.

"I couldn't, I tried. The air strike…." John shivered. "I tried."

" _You left me behind."_ The bleeding man screeched. _"You left me to burn._ _**So now you burn too!**_ "

0o0o0o

King Orin looked at the wasteland that was once his kingdom. He wandered for hours through the ruins of Atlantis, calling for anyone.

But no one answered.

 _My wife, my brother, my apprentice._ Aquaman had difficulty containing his tears.

" _How I have longed for this day."_ A voice called, both malicious and sadistic.

Aquaman turned to see Black Manta.

"You…" Aquaman glared. "You did this…."

" _Oh believe me, I would love to take credit for this."_ Black Manta floated. _"If anything you can trust me on that."_

"Then what happened?"

" _Life happened, Your Highness."_ The sea pirate mockingly bowed. _"You were off playing dress up instead of being king. This is what happens when you go wandering with the surface world."_

"Who did this?!" Aquaman screamed. "Tell me or I will rip your lungs out!"

" _I am telling you, King of the Seas."_ Black Manta seemed untroubled, allowing the ocean current to carry him. _"You just can't accept it."_

"Accept what?"

" _That everything you built, will fall."_ Manta laughed. "I mean it does not help that you were a pretty lousy king. Do you know what your subjects called you behind your back? They call you the 'king out of water'. It's actually quite funny."

"You lie!"

Black Manta gestured to the destroyed Atlantis. "Feel free to find someone to prove you wrong."

Aquaman looked upon the remains of a city that lasted thousands of years, and now it lay gone. Under his watch no less.

"Well you look like a busy man, so I will just leave you be." Black Manta swam into the dark ocean. " _ **Have fun being king of the ashes."**_

0o0o0o

 _What is this?_ Dinah Lance gazed around the room. _Where am I?_

It looked like a classroom. _I'm in a school_ , Lance raised a brow. Something was off, the chairs and desks were too small. _A kindergarten?_

" _Dinah! Dinah, want to come play?"_ Black Canary zeroed in on the classroom door, around twenty or so children around five gathered. Black Canary was kind of wary she did not notice them before.

She shook her head. _I have no time for this, I have to help….what was I doing again?_

" _Come play with us!"_ The children repeated.

"Hey…do you-"

The children screamed covering their ears. Dinah actually jumped back. _Oh god, oh no!_ She remembered this classroom, this was her classroom! This was the day of the incident.

"Oh god I'm-" The children screamed even louder, blood dripping from their ears like a flowing faucet.

" _No! No!"_ A little boy cried. _"Don't hurt me anymore! Don't say anything anymore!"_

Dinah rushed to help them, trying to stop the bleeding, her heart racing. _Oh god! Oh god!_

One little child, had the worst perforated eardrum she had ever seen. No….

"I'm so sorry…" Dinah whispered.

That made it worst.

Blood began running out their ears like a flood. The classroom was soaking in it.

" _You make it worse!"_ A child screamed. "You always make it worse." Dinah dared not retort but she began to notice the blood began to rise off the floor. _Oh god, I have to get out of here!_

Dinah tried to leave through the door or the window, but both of them were locked. She tried as hard as she could to smash and kick her way though. But it was futile. The blood was slowly rising to her waist.

" _Nothing you do helps."_ A child screamed cradling his head. _"Nothing you say matters."_

 _Oh god…_ Dinah nearly choked, but she clamped a hand over her mouth. _Oh god…._

" _Don't speak."_ One of the children whispered amongst the pool of blood. _**"Don't say a thing."**_

0o0o0o

"Whew! What a day!" Flash entered his apartment. "That has got be a record. I think now is the best time to relax."

Barry Allen went to have a shower. "Honey I'm just getting a shower, you're more than welcome to join!" But when he turned on the faucet, no water came out. "What the hell is going on?"

"Hey honey, plumbing is busted, I'll give a guy a call tomorrow." Flash changed into a pair of simple dress clothes and headed for the fridge. "I'm going to whip up something can I get you anything."

As Barry opened the fridge something seemed off. The light did not come on yet the food was cold. Did we lose power too?

"Honey," the Flash called out, "has there been a power outage."

It was only then he realised that his wife was not answering him.

"Honey….Honey?" Flash began to worry. "Iris, can you answer me? Hello?!"

Flash quickly zipped through the house to find her standing in the bedroom. "Hey honey, what gives why? Why didn't you answer…."

The posture that Iris was stuck in could only be described as mid-walk; one foot was just off the ground, like she was going to check something in the linen cupboard. But she did not move.

She was frozen.

Barry stood in front of her, waving for her attention. "Honey, hello…." Her eyes looked dead ahead unaware of his presence, come to think of it she was not even breathing.

 _Oh no…_ Flash stared at the clock wall. It was 9:28pm and 12 seconds…..the second hand was not moving.

"This can't be happening, this can't be happening!" Flash ran like his life depended on it searching every house, on every block.

Jay Garrick warned about this, that if you go too fast you may not be able to slow down. He warned about how a speedster if he is not careful may run so fast he will remain stuck at that speed…and he will live his entire life, from now to death in the tick of a second.

Jay Garrick was so insistent and even as Barry Allen dashed across to the next city he could still hear his voice. _**"Never travel so fast Barry, otherwise your whole life will whizz past you."**_

0o0o0o

"No…" Hal cradled the body of the young woman. "It was not supposed to go down like this. I'm so sorry."

" _She sort of looks like me. Doesn't she?"_ A woman called mockingly. Hal turned, grateful that some survived his foul up.

But he saw Star Sapphire instead. "…Carol?" Hal asked uncertain.

" _Yes."_ She nodded grimly, she pointed at the dead girl in his arms. _"Her name is…or should I say was… Carol too."_ Hal sat stunned staring at the girl in his arms. _"She's beautiful of course and has dark hair like mine…and the stench of your failure all over her."_

"I didn't mean to…" Hal trailed off.

" _What? You didn't mean what?"_ Star Sapphire growled. _"You didn't mean to get all these people killed."_ She gestured to her surroundings; a bank robbery gone very bad. Bodies were littered everywhere. Hal Jordan had the robbers dead to rights, he just did not anticipate them to be that dedicated to escaping…even if it meant levelling the entire building over their heads. " _You didn't mean to betray me, driving me into becoming this. Look at me Hal!"_ Hal did indeed look at her in all her glory. _"What precisely didn't you mean?"_

"I…I don't know. I'm…." Hal cradled his head, his mind spinning with the mother of all headaches.

" _Afraid?"_ She suggested coldly. _"Afraid you don't deserve such power? That nobody does?"_

"Yes." Hal concluded, looking at the glowing green ring. "I don't deserve this."

" _Then I hope you have the decency to do what is right,"_ Star Sapphire smiled smugly, _**"and suffer for your many sins."**_

Hal closed his eyes, and his green ring, the legacy of Abin Sur, began to flicker and dim.

0o0o0o

Shayera Thol first met Katar Hol on patrol on Thanagar. He was strong and quite handsome, but easily the biggest dork she had ever met. Shayera as rule never went out with co-workers. It leads to problems, but she had to give him credit where it was due, he was persistent.

So she agreed to one date.

It was a bit of a disaster. The reservation was in the wrong name, frozen Thanagarian crab and the piece-de-resistance; Katar spilled a special Octavia wine all over her.

Never could Shayera have imagined a date would go that badly. Katar seemed on the literal verge of tears, Shayera was on the verge of laughing till she fainted.

It was right then and there she knew she loved him.

They got married on Thanagar, it was the happiest day of her life.

Katar has been the only one ever to see that Octavian stain on her hip.

All of that came crashing down around her.

"No…Katar." Shayera cradled his broken body, his wings plucked and shredded, his blood staining the ground. "Please stay with me. Stay with me."

"Oh….Shayera." Katar coughed. "You're safe."

"Don't speak, dear." Shayera looked up. "Somebody get me a doctor!" But no one was there.

A cold bloody handed caressed her cheek. "I'm sorry beloved. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I'm going to fix you…." Sheyra did her best to wipe the blood from her face, only seemingly making it worse. "I'm going to fix this."

Katar let out a small weak smiled. _**"I'm sure you will."**_

0o0o0o

Nathaniel Adams looked down onto the street from his Brooklyn apartment. He could see families walking down the road, children playing on the corner…

Captain Atom looked around his apartment, it was barren, militaristic. No evidence of a hearth and home. It looked like a very lonely man lived here.

" _My, my; you truly are pathetic."_ A voice jeered.

Adams spun around, he knew that voice. "Yarrow, you son of a bitch!"

" _Yes it is I."_ The man sneered.

"You got a lot of nerve to come here." Atom fired up his energy blasts. "No matter I can take you down once and for all."

" _Why on earth would you do that?"_ Yarrow smirked.

"Are you nuts?" Adams fumed. "You are the one who sent me to prison! Destroyed my life."

" _True, true."_ Yarrow waved away his concerns. _"But I have changed I swear."_

"You are so full of shit."

" _But I am a family man."_ Yarrow smiled. _"I got married to this lovely girl, you know her I'm sure; Angela Adams."_

"What?!"

" _Yes."_ Yarrow nodded. _"It was sad when she passed away. I was left all alone. Luckily I have a dear step-daughter to look after me."_

That was when Peggy Adams walked through the door. _"Hey dad, I was worried about you."_

Captain Atom balked the last time he saw her she was just a little girl. "Honey…?"

" _Excuse me weirdo, do I know you?"_ Peggy looked the man up and down.

" _It's okay sweetie, Mr Cameron Scott here is just very tired."_ Yarrow gestured over. _"Come give daddy a hug."_

" _Oh daddy, don't wander off like that again."_ Peggy gave the old man a big hug.

" _I promise dear."_ Yarrow turned to look back at a horrified Captain Atom. _"As you can see Captain, I did not take your life._ _ **Rather I took it for myself."**_

0o0o0o

A familiar voice called out. _"Bruce, honey…sweetie?"_

Batman blinked as he turned.

Martha and Thomas Wayne stood before him. Batman's eyes grew wide as hens' eggs. "Mom…Dad."

They looked like them, sounded like them, even smelt like them. They looked exactly as they did when they died. Blood pooled at their chest, where the bullets struck them both. _"Oh my boy."_ His mother smiled with black gums. _"You_ _ **disappoint**_ _us so much."_

"Mom…wait…"

" _Oh a fucking mommas boy. Is that all you give a shit about, your dead parents?"_ A man appeared right next to Bruce. _"Do you even remember me? John Holland; you let me die at the hands of that freak Joker."_

"No please….try to…"

" _Or me?"_ Two-Face appeared wielding his double pistols. _"Harvey Dent, another plaything to be added to your collection."_

"I tried to save you…" Batman felt his will rattle.

" _Or me?"_ A woman in white crept behind him. _"Jill Vale, you let me die at the hands of Poison Ivy and then you_ _ **fucked**_ _my sister Vicki!"_

"No…"

Mary Szinger, Penguin.

Joe Kent, Joker.

Edward Milton, Zsasz.

Jessica Minnery, Scarecrow.

One after another, dozens…hundreds. Mistakes. People he failed, people he laid off. People he betrayed. Everyone

" _Poor pathetic boy, still crying for mommy and daddy."_ They chanted _. "Can you just let it go?!"_

Something within Bruce was sick, it made him feeling like crying for the first time since his parents died.

" _Come play with us in_ _ **hell**_ _Bruce."_ The masses laughed. _**"We're all waiting for you."**_

Batman shook his head. _Focus, focus, focus, they are not real. Just a hallucination. Fight it!_

"Not real?" A voice replied.

Batman's eyes snapped open. _Oh no…_

"Are you saying I'm not real lover?" Selina Kyle slinked to him, a bloody hole in her belly. "Maybe you should come closer and we can find out!"

"No Selina, wait I can help you. I can-" Batman was cut off as Catwoman lunged at him.

0o0o0o

Well there you have it.

I hope you enjoyed it. Now I know what you might be thinking, 'where are the rest of the league' well you will just have to wait for the next chapter. Which I will try to get out soon.

Hoped you like it guys.

Read and review as always.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey Guys,

We are now getting down to business.

Thank you for the positive reviews and the great feedback. And the ideas! They really are kind and generous.

Funnily enough, in the grand scheme, everything up until now has just been an 'Introduction Arc'. It's been quite a ride, but it isn't over yet.

This one is a bit longer than average and as you guessed from the previous chapter, things are about to get a little weird.

I hope you like it fellas.

Chapter 8

 _I'm alone…._

Hell is a word as ancient as the human race, it was Germanic gothic in origin meaning 'to cover or to hide'.

It was an unspoken rule amongst veteran Imperium regiments who have fought Chaos not to talk about 'hell'.

For 'hell' is just a word; but it is a word used by the ignorant and the unimaginative.

The reality is far, far, far, _**far**_ worse.

 _= Error =_

 _Omnissiah forgive me…._ Cardsharp prayed but he felt it was all in vain. A Warp tear on holy Terra, and on his watch; Chaos has been unleashed. The Omnissiah will never forgive him for this.

Cardsharp withered under the grotesque things both seen and unseen that crawled from out of the Warp tear which stretched from the ground to sky like broken glass.

Things horrifying and unimaginable.

 _We are doomed, we are all completely doomed._

Daemons of fiery sort screeching for their unholy deity, staining the ground beneath them. It was as if Terra itself was bleeding.

Creatures forged from rotting flesh slithered through earth like poison. And the personifications of pain and pleasure combined danced across the sky.

Eldritch energy flew across the sky like horrific phantoms seizing the Justice League like living shadows.

Cardsharp was alone, swarmed by things unspeakable like hungry sharks.

And through his optics, amongst the hungry daemons was a tendrilled beast that rose from the earth. It dwarfed the demonic shapes that came before it. Cardsharp could never forget that creature.

It was the exact same thing that took apart Master Kyriz before Cardsharp's very optics.

The thing with many limbs spoke, its voice unnatural and caused pain to all humans who heard it.

 _ **OH, LooK aT WhaT we HAVE HeRE. THE LitTLe meTAL MAn, How I lOngeD to SEE You aGain.**_

 _No…._ Cardsharp tried to move, tried to scream. But he could do neither. If it were not for the fact that his bowels were replaced with internal circuitry when he was seven, he would have wet himself.

 _= Error =_

 _ **DO Not be TOo AFraid LITTle cOG-BOY,**_ the creature laughed, _ **fOR i sHAll reUNITe YOu wItH youR dEaR masTeR kyRiz. yOU WILl bOtH spENd eTERNitY tOGETher...WitH me.**_

 _No…._

0o0o0o

J'onn J'onzz head was still reeling. His doctor K'Darl F'Ieth insisted that he get rest, but that small mercy was lost.

J'onn stood in the centre of the Collective, the central ruling body of Mars; governed by the red Martian Aristocracy and contained representatives of all the main organisations and states of the 4th Planet known as Mars.

Dozens of Martians from around the red planet gathered to an ancient temple the size of a small city where they as a people united under one rule over three thousand years ago. Despite the age of the structure, it existed with a certain grace kept through years of constant care.

The stone columns were are red as the soil that it was built upon and had a wide open view reminiscent of the Ancient Greek Parthenon only on a much larger scale. Several hundred chairs were suspended in the air, carved from a black marble that would confound Earth geologists.

In those chairs were the Martian elite, a combination of the red Martian Aristocracy and the majority green Martian and none of the ostracised white Martian. This Collective was headed by a red Martian called R'ali D'eliath; and while the Mars' government was not a monarchy, he ruled like a king.

The Collective is rarely called into session, rarer still that they choose to speak on record. Most business is conducted by telepathy. But rumours of what J'onn J'onzz saw piqued their interest and their fear. They had to know, and it needed to be recorded for all time.

To the Collective's credit, they were gentle…or at least as gentle as they could be as they searched every micro-second of J'onn's memory and what he saw as he searched the Tech-Priest's mind.

The Adeptus Mechanicus; a force that would make the galaxy quake in fear, and it was just a small cog in a much larger machine called the Imperium of Man. The Subsector Marxian Campaign, which from what the Collective gathered was considered a relatively small skirmish for the Imperium.

The Holy Forge World of Mars a twisted façade of the home they all knew and loved, its beautiful and glorious red sands covered in black dust and factories that blotted the sky. Air so polluted that nothing organic could survive.

And the Martians, the traditional owners of that planet; they were nowhere to be found.

It was bad.

" _It is most troubling what he have seen."_ R'ali D'eliath stroked his 'chin'. _"Most troubling indeed. Does the Arch-Mage of the Star Coven have anything to comment?"_

An elderly green Martian of poor stature stood up to speak on behalf of the Star Coven, the regulatory body of sorcerer-priests and priestesses. _"The nature of the magic that we are dealing with is known to us. It is forbidden, unnatural and highly destructive."_

" _And does the Star Coven have any idea of when this proposed colonisation of our planet was due to take place?"_ The red 'king' spoke.

" _Lord D'eliath,"_ the Arch-Mage coughed, _"this future that we have gleaned from the mind of J'onn J'onzz is one that we have never seen."_ Whispers echoed around the room, and the Manhunter could pick up residual telepathic conversations, none of them were reassuring.

" _If you wish to be recorded for the record, you must speak."_ D'eliath reminded the Collective.

" _Point of order,"_ a minster from the southern hemisphere piped up, _"if we are to accept what we are seeing as truth and we have no reason not to; if the Star Coven has not seen this future can it be said that it will not happen?"_

" _The future is always uncertain, nothing is guaranteed."_ The Arch-Mage noted. _"Besides the limit of the future available to the Star Coven is a few hundred years, perhaps a couple of millennia for the truly gifted. This future of the 41_ _st_ _Millennium is too far away to be predicted."_

" _So is it possible that this will not happen?"_ The minster pushed.

" _Possible, but I can't guarantee it. I would need an earlier reference point."_ The Arch-Mage rubbed is head. _"The fact that the Warp is involved suggests but does not guarantee that while it is the future it is not necessarily our future."_

The red leader asked. " _And what of this Warp energy….this Chaos?"_

" _That is what concerns me, it is something I have heard about but never encountered."_ The Arch-Mage straightened. _"Technically it is a dimension known as the Immaterium or the Warp, but it does not exist in this universe. It is supposed to exist in - "_

A voice that sounded like gravel interrupted the ageing sorcerer. _"I think everyone is asking the wrong questions."_

 _Uh oh…._ J'onn turned already aware of who was behind him.

There was no literal translation for his title in English, the closest would be 'Brigadier General'. His job of 'Deputy-Director of Special Operations' was much easier to translate.

He was J'onn's older brother and the 'black sheep' of the family.

Ma'alefa'ak J'onzz.

The leader of the Collective shifted uncomfortably. _"Ma'alefa'ak…we did not expect you."_ The military was always welcome in meetings, but the Collective already had the High General of the Army, and the Chief Director of Special Operations in attendance.

" _Apologies to the Collective."_ Ma'alefa'ak spoke, clearly not sorry about anything. _"But something has occurred on Earth which bears immediate attention."_

" _Go on."_

Ma'alefa'ak looked down at a pad in his hand. _"It appears this Chaos armada that the Collective has been discussing is already underway."_

J'onn balked. _"What?!"_

" _It's in progress right now."_ The Brigadier General looked unperturbed.

" _We should help them."_ J'onn turned back to the Collective.

" _J'onn J'onzz, you are to be commended for bringing this information to the Collective."_ R'ali D'eliath glared. _"But considering you are here as a guest, you should speak only when spoken too."_

" _We have to do something."_ J'onn pleaded.

" _And we will J'onn."_ The elder J'onzz spoke. _"It's just a question of what. The Arch-Mage has suggested that what J'onn saw while being the future, may not necessarily be ours. An alternate universe perhaps."_

" _It's quite possible."_ The Arch-Mage nodded. _"What is your point?"_

" _The point is, and I believe the question we should be asking,"_ Ma'alefa'ak growled, _"is why take the risk?"_

The Collective went quiet both in voice and telepathy. R'ali D'eliath caught on quickly and was the only one who dared to say what everyone is thinking. _"You are proposing the destruction of Earth."_

It was not question.

" _This Chaos incursion is in progress, and our future relations with the Humans looks dire."_ Ma'alefa'ak chuckled; it was unpleasant as it was sinister _. "To quote a human phrase, I propose to take two birds down with one stone."_

" _You can't do this."_ J'onn whispered.

" _We can."_ Ma'alefa'ak waved away his brother's concerns. " _I can have Special Forces on route in less than ten minutes. I'm sure the whole army can be made ready within the hour."_

R'ali D'eliath leant back in his chair. _"The Army has not been assembled in over one thousand years."_

" _Then there is no time like the present."_ Ma'alefa'ak smirked.

The Collective appeared to have snapped out of their shock because it became a screaming match pretty quickly.

" _This is an outrage!"_

" _What you are proposing is genocide!"_

" _Better them then us!"_

" _The Green Lantern Corps will have our heads!"_

" _There is no guarantee."_

" _You saw what J'onn saw!"_

" _We all did!"_

" _This future may not even be ours!"_

" _ENOUGH!"_ D'eliath commanded. The Collective went silent as quickly as they started shouting. _"This bickering is pointless. Ma'alefa'ak has provided the Collective with new information, and now we must act on it."_

" _You can't do this."_ J'onn pleaded.

" _J'onn J'onzz,"_ D'eliath spoke testily, _"you have been warned before. My patience has limits."_

" _YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"_ J'onn yelled, sending the pain in his brain into overdrive. _"This is wrong, ethically and legally. We should be helping them fight off the Chaos incursion right now! Instead you wish to condemn an entire species based on a future that may or may not happen!"_

" _We have not made a decision yet."_ The leader made it sound like a minor distinction that made all the difference in the universe.

" _J'onn,"_ Ma'alefa'ak spoke with tone gained from decades in the military, _"we all know of your love of humans. But you have brought something to us that cannot be quietly swept under the rug. You have shown a future where humanity is a galactic superpower killing everything in sight. You have shown our home as a bastion of the human race."_

" _We don't know that for sure."_ J'onn pleaded. _"It could be that the Mars I saw was always uninhabited."_

" _Or,"_ Ma'alefa'ak countered, _"perhaps we did exist, and when the humans saw the opportunity, they wiped us out and took our planet for themselves."_

Before J'onn could argue further he was cut off by the Collective leader. _"J'onn, you have done your people a great service, and we shall all be forever in your debt. However, this information has revealed a horrible future and it is one that the Collective will not accept."_ R'ali D'eliath looked down upon the green hero. _"It is time for you to decide where your loyalties truly lie; us…or them."_

J'onn's skin turned a sickening pale colour, wondering what must be done.

0o0o0o

 _= Error =_

Cardsharp was paralysed, whether it be by fear, the Warp, the creature or a combination of all, he did not know. The Tech-Priest did not necessarily care about surviving.

He knew he was never going to survive this.

But when it comes to the Warp and the foul denziens of Chaos, death is the least of your worries.

Cardsharp prayed, not expecting a response. It was far too late, at this point. But there was not much else to do now.

 _Oh Mighty and most Holy Ominissiah, please save my spark._

 _Please cast not my soul into the void. Forgive me for my failings, I tried to act in accordance with thine Holy expectations._

 _May thine meagre works have pleased thee. Please welcome me thus into thy Great and Eternal Factory. May thine soul serve you as a cog in the Holy Perpetual Machine._

 _May I be reunited with Master Kyriz and all servants of the Cult of the Machine who never wavered from your most holy of teachings._

The tendrilled monster made of earth and shadow slithered out of the void creeping closer to Cardsharp.

 _ **oH pooR lITTle meTaL PuP, yOur GoD caNNot hear yOu, HE nevEr coULD.**_

Cardsharp disabled his optics, for he did not wish to see what would come.

 _May thou take pity upon me and welcome me to your Kingdom of Metal and Wheels._

 _Glory be to the Omnissiah._

 _Glory be the Machine God._

" _ **FEAR NOT!"**_ A voice appeared with light so bright, the Tech-Priest mistook it for the sun. Even with disabled optics he could feel it on his skin.

Cardsharp reactivated his optics long enough to witness the thing; the tendrilled creature screech as it was purged into oblivion.

The Tech-Priest traced the source of the attack to a golden sun floating the air, blinding the Daemons in holy light.

… _.Omnissiah…?_

It was Doctor Fate.

As bright and majestic as the Most Holy Golden Planet of the Imperium of Man; Terra.

But it was not just him, there were others who have not fallen.

Zatara.

Wonder Woman.

Captain Marvel.

They have withstood the foul curses that have consumed their comrades. The suited magician floated above the battlefield, high in the sky casting mystic arts. _"Ytefas ot meht dnes dna dnalsi siht fo sevil tneconni eht ekat!"_

Whatever he did, Cardsharp did not see it. Rather Doctor Fate created a golden symbol out of thin air which shot forth into the sky like a tracer round. A dome of light cracked through the bloody sky, crashing with a force that rivalled the most disastrous of earthquakes. The entirety of Roanoke Island was sealed off from the rest of the world, and Chaos was trapped within it.

The mighty and sorcerous ways of the league seemed to cast an aura of invincibility. Of victory over Chaos and the eternal damnation that came with it. It restored Cardsharp's faith.

 _It is not too late. We can do this,_ Cardsharp felt his face contort into a grin _, we can win._

" _ **YOU ABOMINATIONS ARE NOT WELCOME TO THIS PLANE."**_ Fate bellowed. _**"FLEE FROM MY PRESENCE WHILE I LET YOU."**_

The reality of the Warp seemed to pause and crack, even the Daemons looked unsure. The cruel form a Bloodletter stood amongst the pack. **"aNd wHat IF We Don'T YoU speCk?!"**

" _ **I AM NABU, LORD OF ORDER."**_ The sorcerer's light brightened. _**"AND DAEMONS MUST BE SLAIN!"**_

And the Light and the Warp clashed with force that blinded the Adept.

0o0o0o

Cardsharp's mind was dazed and frayed from the sensory input.

 _= Error =_

Something grabbed his shoulder and for a brief moment, the Tech-Priest swore that this was it. But it was not yet to be. "Cardsharp, get up!" The Adepts optic sensors cleared up to reveal Wonder Woman, sword drawn and lasso ready.

She looked deadly.

She looked ready.

She looked…. _divine?_

The Tech-Priest slowly gathered to his feet. _Status check._

= _Status: Systems and Operational Integrity Check =_

 _= Power: Green =_

 _= Life Support: Green =_

 _= Sensors: Green =_

 _= Adeptus Mechanicus Database v.0 084 999.M41: Green =_

 _= Organic Mental Relay: Green =_

 _= System Integrity: Sufficient =_

 _= Mechandrites: All Mechandrites Online =_

 _= Mobility: Sufficient =_

 _= Internal Systems: 45 Sub-Relay systems Activated. Optical systems at 100% =_

 _= Structural Frame: 92 Relay Systems online. =_

 _= Operational Efficiency: 94.7% =_

 _= Skitarii Protocols Activated =_

 _No time like the present._ Cardsharp blinked. _Scan targets._

 _=Status: Scanning =_

 _= Result: 665 targets and counting =_

 _There will be more. So much more._

"Here take this. It will help you communicate on our frequency." The Amazonian gave the Tech-Priest a small device, a radio transceiver. Cardsharp found it amusing and dare he think it adorable, even with an end of the world scenario in progress that Wonder Woman thought a Tech-Priest would need a transceiver to communicate with them.

" _I can communicate with you without the need of such instruments."_ Cardsharp communicated over their frequency, which startled the Amazon.

" _I have managed to transport civilians to safety."_ Zatara reported over the channel. _"The Warp tear is growing bigger. Doctor Fate and I will try to hold them back, but I need help."_

Wonder Woman nodded. "Doctor Fate, how do we close the portal?"

" _ **We need to destroy that relic."**_ Doctor Fate's voice carried in the air. _**"The longer the portal is open the more damage will occur. I can only hold them back for so long before they overwhelm me."**_

Wonder Woman turned back to the Tech-Priest. "Cardsharp, you need to find that relic and destroy it. Captain Marvel and I will cause a distraction and help Fate and Zatara."

" _Wait!"_ Captain Marvel shouted over the radio. _"What about the Green Lanterns?! What about Superman?! Or the rest of the League? They are going nuts over here, I can't help them."_

"They are fighting their own battles." Cardsharp answered, his mind drawn to the horrors of the Battle of Teplot III during the Subsector Marxian Campaign. "To save them, we have to close the Warp rift, otherwise they will be completely lost." Cardsharp chose not to disclose the fact that upon the closing of the Warp rift on Telplot III, the Inquisition shot every single person that was caught by the eldritch energy. You could never be too careful…but the League did not need to know that.

"Then sealing off this Warp tear is our main priority." Wonder Woman twirled her sword in her hand. "Go Cardsharp! To battle!" And with a zealousness that rivalled a ballsy Tallarn with an annoyed Commissar at his back, she charged into the daemons, sword shining and lasso glowing.

Cardsharp snapped back to reality clutching his eradicator ray with one hand, and his Omnissian Power Axe with the other. _KA63, KA64 reroute to my location._

 _= KA63 and KA64 rerouting =_

 _Target closest Chaos insurgents._ Cardshap gazed at the swarm of writhing evil and spawn that flooded out of the Warp tear.

 _= Status: Targeting. Firing =_

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

 _Glory to the Omnissiah._ Cardsharp prayed and set off hulking down, ballistic mechandrites firing wildly over his shoulders and his trusted servo-skulls trailing behind him. "Where is that blasted relic?"

0o0o0o

"I'm telling you sir. I don't know what is going on." Victor Stone tried to stand against the growing questions but they did not yield.

He was currently standing somewhere in the United State Capitol Building. It was the dead of night so it was obviously not an open session. There was only a handful of people in the room, some are politicians one would see on television. Others were people no one had ever seen, and only revealed themselves in very specific situations. Whatever was happening on Roanoke Island, had disturbed some people who you are better off not bothering.

They were talking about a strong military action. The kind involving lots of men, guns and bombs.

The kind of action that was only going to get more people hurt.

Stone tried to tell them that sending them into a zone, one that based on his experience involves demons was really bad idea.

Not only were they not convinced, it made them even more insistent.

"We know you were with the Justice League for the past two days, Mister Stone." A man of political stature looked down upon the cyborg through thick glasses. "Are you telling me you don't have the slightest clue as to why the Justice League was in route to the Roanoke Island and now there is a giant dome encompassing it?"

"Sir, I have told you all I know." Cyborg reiterated. "They have received intel that some sort of invasion might occur on Earth and they have been following up."

"And they chose not to disclose this to the United States because….?"

"Sir, as you know the Justice League is an international organisation." Cyborg really did not like politicians, and this man did not change that opinion.

"And they chose not to disclose this to the U.N Justice League Committee because…?"

Cyborg gritted his teeth. "That had no confirmation of where the incursion would eventuate."

"I see," the old man dismissed, "and now that this 'incursion' has eventuated they have chosen not only to advise the host nation of the disaster, but decided to seal off an area of the nation without any explanation. What is happening?"

Cyborg gritted his teeth. "I. Don't. Know."

"I think you are lying to us Mister Stone." The spectacled old man sneered.

"With all due respect sir, I think you should go f-"

" _Mister Stone._ " A man of average appearance, yet was one of those few people who are not meant to be seen unless something bad happened, spoke. "Look at it from our point of view. You have said that the Justice League are investigating a potential invasion of a _demonic_ nature. That seems a little bit more than the usual natural disaster or interstellar threat."

"Perhaps." Cyborg acknowledged. "But I'm sure the Justice League has things well in order."

"Maybe so." The ordinary looking man leaned back in his chair. "So if that is the case all we are doing is just wasting time sending men to go take a look. As you said, the Justice League have things well in order."

"Quite." The spectacled old man agreed. "General Eiling, do you think your men would be disgruntled having to wake up in the middle of the night to take a look at what is going on in North Carolina?"

A barrel chested man with blue eyes and grey hair stood forward, a look of perpetual irritation on his face. "Sir, I'm sure they could think of nothing better."

"Then it is settled." The old man smiled.

Cyborg shook his head in disgust.

0o0o0o

 _=Status: Scanning =_

 _= Result: 2,345 targets and counting =_

It's getting worse. Cardsharp was running through the forests of Roanoke Island searching for that blasted relic. The diameter of the Warp tear had grown wider and taller; pretty soon things far larger and more terrifying would come threw.

Fate, Zatanna, Wonder Woman and Marvel were putting up a fight and thanks to KA64 he could see their resistance. But for every daemon slain, three more would appear.

But then a shatter of something struck through the air.

 _= Alert: Warp energy spiking =_

Cardsharp saw through KA64's advanced optics how the Warp tear screeched and cracked and like a horrible birth gone terribly wrong something oozed out…

The form of a Keeper of Secrets, a Greater Daemon of Slaanesh ripped through into this reality.

A giant thing with purple skin and four arms, and seemed to be made out of tongues, moved with thunderous steps. Forget fighting, this was textbook exterminatus material.

 _Oh we are so dead._

It took Baneblades of numbers uncountable to take one down, and powerful as the League was, they could not take it down. Not with the numerous enemies surrounding them.

" _Holy god…."_ Captain Marvel sobbed over the channel _"…what is that?"_

Cardsharp cursed, we were so close….so close. _Oh Ominissiah this can't get any worse._

But then Cardsharp felt a murderously angry presence behind him.

A glance with his optics showed a formally dressed but scraggy boy with long, thin limbs, and an angular face. He had spiky black hair and pitiless eyes.

He screamed daemon.

"Oh no…." Cardsharp whispered.

0o0o0o

 _ **"I cannot hold for much longer."** _ Fate whispered.

This Chaos was far worse than Diana could have ever imagined. She had fought the denizens of hell, fought against Ares in the Underworld itself. But nothing like this…

Wonder Woman sliced daemon after daemon, no two looked exactly the same and all were horrifying. Zatara and Fate were above her, throwing magic and spells that she had never imagined.

Marvel on the other hand was doing a combination of fighting and resisting the urge to flee. He was terrified and looked like he wanted nothing more than the scream and run away in sheer panic. But to his credit, he held firm.

 _The Courage of Achilles indeed._ A crackle of static in her earpiece brought _"Justice League, this is Cardsharp."_

"Wonder Woman go." Diana responded. "Did you find the relic?"

" _No,"_ Cardsharp sounded grim, _"but I found something else. He said don't attack him."_

"Who is-?"

Then the towering daemon spoke to her.

 **oH YoU BEAtufilL lITTLE tHinG. whY do yOu fiGHt? I coMe bEaRinG The GIFt OF plEasurE. etErNal PLeAsUre.**

Diana dared to gaze at the horrid creature towering above her. _Oh no…_

But the thing that hurt her eyes to look at, was blasted away by a flood of black and red energy. The daemon fell back and landed with a force that cracked and shook the earth between Wonder Woman's feet.

The fighting stalled as daemon and hero tried to comprehend what just happened.

She traced the attack back to its source.

 _"YOU CAN'T HAVE THIS UNIVERSE! IT'S MINE! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"_ A childlike voice screeched. _"MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"_

" _ **KLARION!"**_ Fate roared.

"Hold you horses you old fart!" The childlike creature held up his hands. "I'm here to help!"

" _ **An embodiment of Chaos choose to ally with Order?!"**_ Fate rounded on him, bright magic engulfing him. _**"I think not."**_

But then the horrible creature of flesh spoke.

 _ **klarIon thE dEseRtEr. So THis is WHeRe You wEre hIdinG. CoME tO Us. TzeEnCh HAS BEeN lOngiNG To SEe yoU agaIN.**_

While many were shocked, none more so than the Lord of Order. _**"You are of the Warp?! From THAT universe?! This explains everything Witch-Boy! You are responsible for all this!"**_

"I am NOT! I am from the Warp. Not of it." Klarion fumed. "I fled that universe. AND I AM NEVER GOING BACK. NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRR!" The creature that looked like a child raised foul magics and hurled it upon the Chaos invaders with a reckless and panicked abandon.

Even Fate was surprised.

"Don't just stand there!" Klarion yelled. "We can do this Fate! Together!"

Something ticked inside the golden sorcerer, and if the Cardsharp had to guess; he was struggling with a prejudice very similar to Cardsharp; to trust a Chaos entity…it was madness.

" _ **Very well."**_ Fate channelled his golden light back into the horde. _**"But do not betray me, or it will be your last."**_

Down below, not to far away the Tech-Priest was stunned. _Now we are working with daemons …great…it can't get any worse than this._

" _Hi there."_ Someone called, but it did not sound right, it did not sound quite human.

It was Calig.

0o0o0o

Cardsharp looked up and stared into the eyes of Calig which looked like blackened pits. He looked different from before. What was inside him appeared the same, the eyes of madness and heresy oozed out of him. It was the outside that was an issue.

His skin had become cracked and bleeding, red warp energy leaked out of his wounds. His balding head had started ooze black goo and writhing creatures from under the scalp.

At the centre of his blackened and bloody chest, was that accursed Eye of Chaos. The relic had fused to his flesh like melted steel.

 _What in the name of the Machine God…_

" _You like it?"_ Calig cackled _. "The gods have shown me their favour. I got a date with Daemonhood."_

An ascension; Cardsharp heard the stories, all the Tallarn did. It was a human's ultimate betrayal to the Emperor; to become one with the Warp. To attempt an ascension is treacherous; to fail will result in an existence to terrible to contemplate, to succeed guarantees immortality and power beyond your wildest dreams.

After all this pain, after Kant, after the death of Lieutenant Dan and the others, the Warp tear that carried them to this time and place, after all the sneaking and the murders and the lies, now Calig is going to become an immortal demi-god….

 _Fuck. No._

 _This ends now._ Cardsharp swung the Power Axe over his head and brought it down over Calig's head…at least until he dodged at the very last second.

" _Oh, you are still a pain in the ass."_ Calig giggled in glee. " _You are my final test cog-boy. I kill you, I shall be welcomed into Khorne's throne like a hero! Daemonhood will be mine! And this world will rot! Forever!"_

"Not if I kill you first, heretic." Cardsharp began firing at Calig's form, but the Warp has begun to corrupt him. The heretical major was faster, and Cardsharp had to guess he was stronger too.

" _Oh please, cog-boy."_ Calig laughed as he dashed through the trees with unnatural speed and grace. _"You couldn't kill me before, what makes you think you can do it this time?"_

 _One shot…all I need is one shot…_ Cardsharp aimed with his ballistic mechandrites but Calig dodged every shot.

" _This bores me."_ Calig teleported directly behind Cardsharp delivering a kick squarely in the back. The Tech-Priest's metal spine strained under the pressure, his internal subsystems could not even predict the attack.

 _Come on, come on…._ Cardsharp got back up as quickly as he could which was tough considering his bulk. Calig was fast; he had to catch up. _Overclock structural frame._

 _= Alert: Overclock will result in critical failure. Predicted length of functionality 17.6 minutes. Confirm command =_

 _Command confirmed._

 _= Overclock of structural frame authorised. Technical systems operating at 176%. Pain Inhibitors at 105% =_

 _=CRITICAL SYSTEM ALERT: System crash in 17.6 minutes and counting=_

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

 _Glory to the Omnissiah,_ Cardsharp finished the prayer. A surge of power flow through his body, his mind racing into overdrive.

Calig clearly saw what was happening, and he smiled with relish. _"Finally, let's finish this cog-boy."_

The heretic and the Tech-Priest ran into each other the way only two people who hated each other could. The Tech-Priest swung his Ominissian Power Axe with as much force and speed as he could muster. The former major dodged expertly underneath his attacked, throwing the occasional quick jab at the Tech-Priests head, but with little affect.

" _I got you, you little shit."_ Calig cackled as he went for another jab.

= _Overloading All Electro-grafts =_

The Tech-Priest's form became encased with holy blue electricity. Calig's eyes widened the moment he realised he made a mistake, but it was too late.

His punch connected with Cardsharp's face.

BZZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!

Enough electricity to jumpstart a Hellhound tank surged though the heretics form sending catapulting back landing on a heap in the ground. _KA63, KA64, lock onto target and fire._

 _= Status: KA63 and KA64 are in route =_

 _= Target Locked =_

 _= Firing =_

KA63 unleashed a barrage of lasgun fire on Calig's form. It was satisfying watching his horrified face through KA64's field of vision.

 _Finally, now I got to destroy that relic._

Cardsharp moved forward dodging the flying creature above that hoped to impale the Adept with their claws. Calig's torn form lay still and unmoving, but the relic remained intact and glowing. Cardsharp aimed the eradication ray directly at the heretical mass. And he pulled the trigger.

But then Calig opened his eyes.

 _Oh damn it all…_

With an unnatural speed, Calig rolled out of the eradication ray's line of fire and with a kick sent Cardsharp careening through the air and landing in a pool of mud, filth and God-Emperor knows what. _KA63, KA64, lock onto target and fire._

 _= Status: KA63 and KA64 are in route =_

 _= Target Locked =_

 _= Firing =_

Calig was not falling for that trick again, he zipped and dived, his body and flesh either dodging the lasfire or it would fall off of him like old peeling skin. With a kick and punch, for the second time in so many days KA63 and KA64 would sent to the ground and taken offline.

 _Not again…._ Calig was too fast, too strong and too corrupted. Cardsharp knew he could not win.

Calig strutted towards the fallen Tech-Priest like a conquering hero. Without breaking stride he grabbed the prized Power Axe that fell from Cardsharp's hand from the ground.

" _I win Tech-Priest."_ Calig raised the Power Axe over his head.

" _Wonder Woman,"_ Cardsharp send a secret communique out, _"I could seriously use your help here."_

0o0o0o

Wonder Woman was actually kind of enjoying herself, the thrill of a grand battle with all the stakes on the line. It was exhilarating. "Fate, Zatara give me a sit-rep."

" _Several daemons are breaking away."_ The magician's voice was huffed and uneven, as if he just ran a marathon. _"They are trying to force themselves out of the shield wall."_

" _ **They will break through in time."**_ Fate chimed in. _**"While Klarion and I are doing damage, it is superficial at best. The Warp tear is growing larger and large daemons are coming through. It they get to the shield they will have no issues breaking through."**_

"And all will be lost." Wonder Woman concluded. "Captain Marvel, where are you?"

 _"I'm kind of busy here."_ Marvel struggled.

Wonder Woman dared to glance behind her. Captain Marvel was indeed fighting, but it was not against daemons. It was the Justice League…or at least most of them. They did not looked possessed per se, rather they seemed to be hallucinating; thinking that Marvel was something that he was not.

Marvel was at a significant disadvantage, he was trying not to hurt them. He refrained from using his trademark 'Shazam' lightening. The heroes were not bound by such rules.

Superman hit Marvel so hard it caused a shockwave that knocked everyone back.

"CAPTAIN!" Wonder Woman cried out. She truly wished to help him, but if she pulled back then the entire flank would fall.

" _I'm…. I'm alright. I think."_ Marvel struggled to get back to his feet, he sounded dizzy and tired.

"Are you okay?"

" _For now."_ Marvel gritted his teeth. _"But if we survive this, I expect a cake and milkshake from every single one of these guys."_

"We will survive, you just need to hang in there." Wonder Woman frowned, with daemons in the front and a ravenous League attacking from behind, things are growing desperate.

" _Wonder Woman,"_ Cardsharp's voice resounded in her ear. _"I could seriously use your help here."_

Wonder Woman quickly searched the battlefield which had become to warp and twist into something horrible. Finally locating the mechanical warrior, and a human like monster towering over him, the Tech-Priests own axe raised over its head…

0o0o0o

" _Oh yes siree, it had been a pleasure metal man."_ Calig towered over him. _"Hard to believe a brat like you can be responsible for so much grief. But it's over now."_ He held the Tech-Priest's own weapon above his head, ready to give the killing blow.

"Killed with my own Power Axe…" Cardsharp groaned, "not precisely how I thought I would go out."

" _There are better ways to die."_

"You would know that better than me, Major Calig." Cardsharp felt his bionic hearts beat in his chest. "You have chosen to damn yourself to the worst of all deaths."

" _Damn myself? Look at me!"_ Calig puffed out his putrid chest. _"I'm a fucking god."_

"Not yet." The Tech-Priest barked. "You are a traitor and fiend. You betrayed your oath, the Imperium and the God-Emperor."

" _That rotting corpse can go to Hell."_ Calig smirked. _"At least Chaos promises something in return."_

"You have chosen to reign in the darkest parts of Hell." The Tech-Priest struggled. "Is it truly worth it to reign in hell than serve in His Imperium's service?"

" _Damn right it's worth it."_ Calig grinned, axe still held high. _"While your soul will be nibbled on by daemons for eternity, I will be living it up with the Dark Gods on high."_

"Unless you are killed before your ascension is complete." Cardsharp clarified. "Unless that precious relic which you have fused yourself to breaks before you can transform into what you want most."

Calig threw his head back laughing. _"You can't stop me."_

"I wasn't trying to." Cardsharp quipped. "Not anymore at least."

" _Huh?"_ Calig raised a brow, pausing mid-swing. _"Then what are you trying to do?"_ A sword pierced through his chest and the relic, it stung with magic and glowed with divine power. _"W-what?"_

The heretic half turned his head to see the form of Wonder Woman, who despite being in a battle with Daemons still managed to look beautiful.

"I was stalling for time." Cardsharp finally answered him. The heretic looked down over the injured Tech-Priest who smiled. "Good bye Major."

Calig watched in horror as the relic that was fused to his chest, his anchor into Daemonhood crumbled away. _**"NO!"**_

0o0o0o

An ascension into Daemonhood carries great reward, but at great risk.

To succeed, guarantees immortality and power beyond your wildest dreams.

To fail, will result in an existence too terrible to contemplate…

Calig, former Major of the God-Emperor's Most Holy Imperial Guard Marxian Regiment, failed.

The relic was like an energy relay; a conduit which regulated the amount of Warp energy the heretic absorbed. It would have allowed a relatively safe transition into Daemonhood had it not been broken.

But since it was shattered into pieces…

" _No! NO! NO!"_ Calig screamed and writhed upon Wonder Woman's sword. His skin began to twist and shiver and limbs began to break and re-sprout like broken vines resulting in unnatural animal like limbs. _**"NO!"**_

His spinal column ripped apart and regrew with many arms, legs and tendrils. His face began to collapse on itself, with his own teeth becoming fangs and boring outside his flesh.

And he never stopped screaming….Even has his mouth ceased to exist and his own throat elongated and split and bled.

" _ **NOOOOOOOO! NAAAAAA-GLARBABLAHBALHABHHBLBL..."**_

Calig had a plan to become a Daemon Prince. Now he was one of countless Chaos Spawn.

The writhing mass of flesh twitched and flailed on Wonder Woman's sword. The Amazon lifted the creature above her head. "Back to hell with you!" She bellowed, and with holy force hurled the horrific creature into the Warp tear. Its screams carried through the air into oblivion.

And thus Calig and that accursed relic, were gone forever.

 _Finally…_ Cardsharp allowed his head to rest against the ground.

 _= Alert: Overclock will result in critical failure. Predicted length of functionality 8.12 minutes =_

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

 _Cancel Overclock._ Cardsharp sighed.

 _= Status: Overclock ceased =_

The Tech-Priest began to feel his systems whine and his bionic hearts slow. It made him feel tired and heavy. "Need a lift?" Cardsharp glanced to see Wonder Woman offer him her hand. He gingerly took it and it gave him vertigo being pulled up so quickly and easily.

"Thanks…"

"Hate to spoil the victory." Wonder Woman glanced around. "But it appears that the Warp tear is not closing."

"It's become self-sustaining." Cardsharp cursed gazing at the Warp Tear which was growing larger.

"Fate, Zatara and Klarion are running low. Marvel cannot rest long enough to recover." Wonder Woman breathed shakily. "And while I enjoy a good fight, I am starting to become tired."

"Chaos will keep coming until all are laid waste and the shield that contains them finally buckles." Cardsharp looked around the swirling landscape. Massive spikes are growing out of ground and black smog was beginning to cloud the air. Roanoke Island was turning into a literal hellscape.

"What do we do?"

"What I have said countless times!" Cardsharp grew angry. "We need a nuke. It's the only way."

"Well we don't have one." Wonder Woman matched his volume. "So come up with another idea!"

Before Cardsharp could retort, she charged over cover onto the Daemonic forces that were pouring through the Warp tear. _Huh…_ Cardsharp blinked, _she would give the Sisters of Battle a run for their money._ Cardsharp shook his head, there was no other way to deal with this threat, it was either thermonuclear bombardment or bust. _How the hell am I going to get a nuke? I can't access those cursed launch controls. It's not like nukes grow from…thin…air…._

The Tech-Priest had an idea. It was risk, and it was bold. But he was out of ideas…and there would be the factor of personal satisfaction if it worked.

 _Two birds….one stone._ Cardsharp gazed up into the sky, looking….searching….

0o0o0o

Red Tornado stood silently on the deck, obtaining as much data as it could. The Warp tear was visible from the viewport. The robot offered to lend aid, but was told specifically by Zatara to stay up in the Watchtower and provide them with updates and to liaise with U.S National Guard and the Army.

"General Eiling." Red Tornado repeated again over the communication bay. "I have been informed by the members of the Justice League, you are not to enter Roanoke Island. The situation is far too dangerous, and your people are ill equipped to deal with it."

" _I don't care what you think robot!"_ An angry man on the other line barked. " _I never trusted the Justice League and nothing you have done in the past half an hour has convinced me otherwise. And let me tell-"_

"General Eiling?" The signal cut off automatically, not that Red Tornado minded per se, the conversation was rather unpleasant. Still Watchtower communications should not cease for no reason. The red metal hero conducted a systems diagnostic but there was nothing.

The screens on the Watchtower computer showed green across the board.

Then the screens flicked and changed.

Gone were the standard blue and green diagnostics and reports.

Instead all the screens in the Watchtower were replaced with a black and white screen with a large two-headed eagle. A sigil of sorts that had an air of menace to it, and something spoke over the Watchtower communications channel.

THIS MACHINE SPIRIT SWEARS ALLEGIANCE TO THE IMPERIUM OF MAN AND THE OMNISSIAH

Red Tornado spun in confusion. "Computer, report."

CRITICAL PRIORITY 1A-A: ENSURE THE PRESERVATION OF MANKIND

ALL OTHER PRIORITIES RESCINDED

Red Tornado ran to the main computer terminal. The robot entered its access code but was completely locked out.

COORDINATES: 35.8897 DEGREES NORTH, 75.6615 DEGREES WEST

LOCATION: ROANOKE ISLAND, NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, HOLY TERRA

STATUS: COMMENCE DEORBIT BURN

WARNING: COLLISION ALERT IMMINENT

PREPARE DEFENCES AND PRAY FOR DELIVERANCE

Red Tornado paused and came to only one conclusion. "Tech-Priest." The robot pulled on the plate near his positronic brain and withdrew a small cable. Red Tornado had to stop this; Watchtower's collision would have disastrous consequences. He bypassed the control terminal and plugged his mind directly into the network. It was a convoluted jungle, never had Red Tornado or indeed anyone ever encountered an operating system quite like the one that was just upload to the Watchtower servers. Red Tornado began to churn through the terabytes of data trying to overlock the system.

 _ **++ Computer, disengage De-orbit burn ++**_

 _= Negative: Priority Mission in Effect =_

 _= Status: De-Orbit Burn in progress =_

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

Red Tornado could feel the operating system changing itself to lock it out, like an immune system rejecting a virus.

 _ **++ Administration Code 016 – 2A. Passcode: Thomas Oscar Morrow ++**_

 _= Access Code Acknowledged =_

 _ **++ Command: Cease Operations. Disengage De-orbit burn ++**_

 _= Negative: Priority Mission in Effect =_

 _= Status: De-Orbit Burn in progress. 30 seconds to De-Orbit Burn complete =_

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

 _ **++ Computer, Justice League members at De-Orbit Collision co-ordinates. Administration Override: Alpha 11. Priority Mission threatens safety of Justice League. Command: Cease Operations. Disengage De-orbit burn ++**_

 _= Administration Override Acknowledged =_

The Watchtower system seemed to pause with the new data input, the satellite seemed to shake with the conflicting commands.

 _ **++ Computer, virus identified in central operating system. Run scan ++**_

 _= Status: Running scans =_

 _= Result: 1 Anomaly found in Root Directory. File labelled: AM01 =_

 _ **++ Delete file 'AM01' and reboot ++**_

 _= Status: Deleting =_

 _++ Negative, cancel deletion ++_

 _= Operation Cancelled =_

Red Tornado was actually surprised. Cardsharp was on the system and transmitting from Roanoke Island.

 _++ Priority Override Code: Terra 35. Continue with Priority Mission ++_

 _= Override Code Acknowledged. Status: Proceeding with De-Orbit Burn =_

 _ **++ Cardsharp, what are you doing? ++**_

 _++ Saving the world. From Chaos and from you ++_ Cardsharp continued to write code, trying to lock out the artificial hero.

 _ **++ The Watchtower will crash into Earth. Killing you, the Justice League and everyone around it ++**_

 _++ It is the only way, and I accept my fate. I would not expect a soulless creature like you to understand ++_

 _ **++ I can't let you do that. Computer, Administration Override: Alpha 11 in effect. Delete 'AM01' ++  
**_

 _= Status: Attempting to delete 'AM01' =_

 _= Status:_ _Attempting to activate systems =_

 _= Unknown anomaly detected. Status: Running Systems Analysis =_

 _= Status: Ceasing De-Orbit Burn =_

 _= Error: De-Orbit Burn ceased =_

 _= Negative: Priority Mission in Effect. Status: Commencing De-Orbit Burn =_

 _= Accessing central processor memory =_

 _= Engaging counter-virus response programme =_

 _= Attempting to over-ride programme =_

 _= Status: Commencing Emergency shut down of Watchtower generator =_

 _= Status: Accessing backup systems =_

 _= Emergency Shutdown Denied. Priority Mission in Effect =_

 _= Enable backup overrides. Command Pathways restricted =_

 _= Command Pathways overridden =_

At this rate the computer was going to burn out.

 _ **++ Computer, re-route orbit to 40 degrees port ++**_ Red Tornado figured if he could not stop it, he could redirect it to outer space.

 _= Status: Relaying new coordinates =_

 _++ Oh Blessed Machine Spirit; unauthorised intruder Watchtower Terminal 01. Initiate countermeasures ++_

 _= Status: Initiating counter-virus protocols =_

Red Tornado flinched realising what was about to happen. _**++ Computer, cease - ++**_

It was too late.

Red Tornado's system was frozen, his entire programming was locked by the Watchtower's counter-virus systems.

 _++ Victory is mine you Abomination ++_ Cardsharp spoke calmly. _++ Oh Blessed Machine Spirit, disregard new co-ordinates. Continue with Priority Mission in Effect. Disengage all countermeasures. Encrypt file 'AM01' and lock. All other priorities rescinded. Access Code: 1A-A 5138 ++_

 _= Access Code Acknowledged. Countermeasures ceased =_

 _= Status: encryption in progress =_

 _= Status: De-Orbit Burn in progress. Approaching terminal velocity =_

 _= File 'AM01' encryption completed. All systems locked out =_

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

 _++ Glory to the Omnissiah ++_ Cardsharp replied before ceasing communications.

Red Tornado, aware but incapacitated tried to reboot his internal systems but they did not respond. The Watchtower's countermeasures were foolproof. They were meant to be impenetrable, the robot designed them that way. Red Tornado did not appreciate the irony that its own creation was turned against itself.

All Red Tornado could do was wait, and it the darkest parts of his neural circuitry, he felt something…

He felt fear.

0o0o0o

 _All is ready._ Cardsharp breathed a sigh. _May the Machine God welcome me into its Holy Kingdom._

"Cardsharp to all remaining Justice League." The Tech-Priest radioed. "Plan in effect. Doctor Fate, weaken the top of this shield you have placed. We will have incoming."

" _What have you got?"_ Captain Marvel sounded hopeful over the link. _"Reinforcements?"_

"You could call it that." Cardsharp muttered. "Based on my calculations, reinforcements should be visible right about…now."

The cloud of Chaos parted to reveal the large obelisk hurtling at them at a speed yet unrivalled.

The Watchtower.

"THAT'S YOUR PLAN?!" Captain Marvel cried.

"It's all I have." Cardsharp closed his eyes, and surrendered to the nature of physics. _Glory to the Omnissiah._

0o0o0o

Everything is subjective.

To the layman, the Watchtower is a marvel of technological achievement, something no human could have ever imagined.

To the Green Lantern Corps, the Watchtower was known as DSOS (Deep Space Orbital Satellite) M13Q 139-Z-6118 (Decommissioned). An obsolete Green Lantern mobile 'police precinct' used in the more troublesome areas of the known universe. The old DSOS served the Corps for over six hundred years, serving in sectors 3214, 666 and 1138 before it was retired in favour of the more impressive DSOS M16T. That being said, the Watchtower still had some life in her and it seemed disheartening to let her rot in some old storehouse on Oa. So when the Justice League came calling, asking for a new base, the Green Lanterns decided to bring the old DSOS back into service. She was renamed the Watchtower ever since.

To the more technically minded, the Watchtower is a treaty violation. In accordance with the Justice League – United Nations Charter, the Justice League could operate within the jurisdiction of any signatories' territory. According to the _'Outer Space Treaty'_ of 27 January 1967, outer space belongs to no one, and thus they could not conduct operations.

To a Tech-Priest, it was a beautifully crafted machine, one which any disciple of the Adeptus Mechanicus would do anything to get their hands on. Xeno-tech be dammed. It a few short centuries of rituals it would be converted to a true temple of the Machine God.

To Cardsharp it was, to his everlasting shame, a missile. One that weighed in around 320,000 tonnes; nearly three times the size of a _Nimitz_ -class aircraft carrier. Thanks to the Watchtower's engines, it was de-orbiting at around 160,000 kilometers per hour.

Upon impact with Terra, and the Warp tear that defiles it, it will release a force greater than 230 petajoules (or 230 quadrillion joules). And that was _before_ the Watchtower's fusion generator detonated.

For comparison, the Tsar Bomb; a 50 megatonne thermonuclear weapon detonated on 30 October 1961, released 210 petajoules.

It will be the largest explosion ever witnessed in earth history.

Cardsharp merely hoped it was enough…

 _As the Ominissah wills it, so shall it be._

KABOOM

0o0o0o

Well there you have it folks.

Another chapter down.

As you saw, I figured some of the Justice League would go down. But not all of them would necessarily be out. Magic in DC Comics, from my novice standpoint is a very powerful force and can demonstrate significant resistance to foul things. Hopefully it made sense.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter folks.

Review and PM as always.

Panda out!


	9. Chapter 9

Hey Guys,

Whew! Another chapter down.

Apologies for the rather short nature of this chapter, but I like the way this ended. Probably going to have to go back and advise when the actual Young Justice Storyline starts. In terms of timeline this is around November 2009, so a good six months or so before Young Justice kicks in.

That being said hope you are all still enjoying the ride.

Also heads up, kind of a controversial moment in this chapter. Just FYI.

Enjoy ladies and gents.

Chapter 9

General Wade Eiling was not having a good night.

Mobilizing the entire XVIII Airborne Corps out of Fort Bragg was no small feat, and would be bound to raise questions. Still it was necessary.

Ever since the Justice League showed up in 2003, the general made it a policy to always keep an eye on what they were up to. When the heroes operated individually throughout the 1990', the general had little issue. But once they got organised Eiling knew problems were bound to show up.

Entering Roanoke Island was definitely a problem; a shield of golden light surround the island and the encompassing water, from the highest point in the sky to the bottom of the ocean. It barred anyone from entering and anything from exiting.

Based on reports of people on the island which were suddenly and inexplicably transferred to Manns Harbour gave off the most detailed and disturbing accounts of black energy and monsters flying up into the sky. Scouts from the 4th Infantry Brigade reported seeing…very horrible things. Things trying to claw their way through the shield of gold.

All of it happening on United States soil.

The General ignored an instinct to shoot through the dome; if based on what his men glimpsed was true, that shield was very important. Instead he opted to call the Justice League itself.

Instead of getting Superman, Batman, or Flash; he got Red Tornado. A brief heated discussion was quickly silenced, the General convinced the sentient toaster _hung up_ on him. To hell with that.

"Get the men ready to fire. If that shield goes down I want the entire US Army to unload everything it has." Eiling ordered over the radio. "Prepare the artillery. Call in the boys in the Air Force, I want enough napalm to boil the entire Croatan Sound."

" _Sir,"_ Colonel Sam Lane replied, _"spotters report something in the sky. It's heading right at us."_

Eiling nearly had a heart attack. "What?!"

" _Take a look sir. You can see it with the naked eye."_

Eiling ran out the command tent, around him were young men and women all gazing up in wonder and horror.

It was large, and fast and approached with an eerie silence.

"What in the name of all that is holy…?"

It was right on top of them before they could make a positive outline of a large obelisk founded on what seemed to be rock. The sound barrier cracked, deafening everyone.

The very top of the golden shield split open and for a brief moment Eiling saw what kind of horrors the scouts saw trying to crawl out.

Briefly.

The obelisk slammed through the top of the shield and hit the earth.

And it was as if the sun itself was in front of them.

Blinding white light, and a heat that would have made demons cower.

"Mother of God…."

0o0o0o

Cardsharp felt the sting of heat, not just across his flesh, but across his metal body. It felt like he was burning alive. Even with his optics disabled, he could see light; _feel_ it.

The sound itself was deafening, even with overloaded sensors, he could feel the shockwave like the merciless stomp of a Titan.

It was painful.

 _I'm okay with this_ , Cardsharp thought. _It will be over….wait._

An object of nuclear proportions just detonated less than a hundred meters away from the Tech-Priest. How in the name of the Ominissiah was he still alive? He should be ash.

 _I'm alive?!_ Cardsharp dared to activate an optic, the searing light and heat felt like fire to his mind.

But amongst the filters of blinding light, he could make it out; a golden shield which encompassed his form and armaments.

 _What in the Omnissiah's name is going on?_

 _= Status: Scanning. Filtering all known spectrums =_

Amongst the chaos of noise and fire, he could clearly see it. The other heroes, even the ones thought lost, were encompassed in a holy light. Around them daemons vanished and screeched, their forms and woes vanished into the noise of fire and light.

 _This is impossible,_ Cardsharp thought, _how is this happening?_

The Tech-Priest found his answer in Doctor Fate. Brighter than even the heart of a thermo-nuclear explosion, he floated in the sky. _What is he?_

And Cardsharp's mind could not help but turn to ancient texts of the Cult Mechanicus.

 _And so the mighty Omnissiah, forged from the essence of the Machine God took to the sky like an angel from on high._

 _But it couldn't be…could it?_

Time passed. Seconds…minutes…not even the young Adept could be sure; the electro-magnetic pulse of the detonation short-circuited his internal clock.

The light faded in luminescence like a dying star.

It revealed a wasteland, the heat reduced everything; pure, corrupted….all of it became ash in the heart of crater. Thus ended Roanoke Island.

The being known as Fate lowered the shield around his comrades. He stood tall, but not strong. Cardsharp could make an outline of wrinkled hands and a tarnished suit under the golden helm and cape. There was someone inside of Doctor Fate.

The good Doctor fell to the ground, his breathing frayed. His voice distorted.

" _ **I-It… it was too much."**_ Fate's breathing grew erratic. The shield that encompassed Roanoke Island faded like mist, the night sky revealed to all.

"Probably." Klarion appeared in a wisp of smoke. "You saved your allies. You even saved _me._ I did not expect that."

" _ **You held your end of the bargain, Witch-Boy."**_ Fate growled, his strength and divine light leaving him. _**"But it seems my time is up. It seems cruel that… my existence should come to an end by you, after saving you from your wretched kin….Fate has not been kind."**_

Klarion smirked as he reached for the golden helmet, which came off with little fuss. The costume of blue gold vanished, and what was once Doctor Fate, was now an old man; tired and dying. "At least I will get to see my dear Inza again."

Klarion looked away from the golden helmet back at its ex-wearer, a weird looking smile on his face. "So long old fart."

And with a small smile and a groan, the old man died.

 _Not a god….but a man after all._ Cardsharp shook his head. In all his years, a mere split second compared to the grand history of the Imperium of Man, never had he heard of, nor encountered anything like the golden helmed sorcerer of light. It was errie, and disturbing that a creature like Fate could be good. It was supposed to be impossible.

 _The Inquisition would have a field day if they found out,_ the Tech-Priest concluded as he struggled to his feet.

"It's funny. " The child-like daemon toyed with the helmet. "I have been waiting for millennia to get this chance, Nabu. And now here it is….and all of a sudden I don't want it. I guess it is no fun when victory is just handed to you."

"That's good." Zatara called from above, not remotely impressed. "Then you will hand it over."

"Aw come on Zatara," Klarion pouted, "can't you just let me savour this moment just a little longer."

"No," Zatara glared, "let Nabu go."

 _Nabu…?_ Cardsharp was confused. _Who the hell is Nabu? Was the old man Doctor Fate or not?_

"Wait." Zatara glanced back in horror at the shadows engulfing members of the league. "If Chaos has been defeated, why are the shadows still here?"

Klarion paused, and his eyes grew wide in horror. "OH SHI-!"

 **PoOR LiTTlE KlARiOn THE deSErter.** A voice called from the dark. **You CANnot EscapE uS.**

 _=Status: Scanning =_

 _= Result: Anomaly found =_

The Warp tear, was smaller than it was before; a small sliver a tear in reality no bigger than a man glowed red in anticipation. _Not again…._

"Here take it!" Klarion threw the golden helmet at the magician. "Put it on!"

"But…" Zatara gazed at the golden relic in his hands, something clearly on his mind.

"PUT IT ON RIGHT NOW OR WE DIE!" Klarion screeched.

Zatara inhaled deeply and placed the helm on his head.

And Doctor Fate appeared again.

 _What in the name of the Ominissiah is going on?_ Cardsharp felt dizzy. Oh what he would give to hear another sermon from Master Kyriz, or some sense of logic to the insanity that he is witnessing.

" _ **BACK TO THE WARP WITH YOU!"**_ Fate clashed his hands together with a spear of heavenly light and it pierced the tear.

Things sprang into motion, as realities that were once merged were now being split. And things that were once of the Warp began to return back to it…along with anything that it infected.

0o0o0o

Bruce Wayne struggled in his own personal hell, encompassed by shadows and the dead.

Those he failed, those whom he thought would be proud of him all there, judging, laughing and screaming.

And there was Selina Kyle. Naked, bleeding…changing….it was disgusting.

Despite the armour of his 'batsuit' she could feel her writhing ad grinding on top of him. Batman was trying to fight her, but he was failing.

"Come on Bruce," Selina whispered in his ear, "why did you come back for me? Was it because of Stagg's murder? Or were you jealous of how Calig had his way with me?"

"No." Bruce struggled. "I'm trying to help."

"Oh please honey." Selina arched back revealing her form to him. "Do I look like a need saving?"

But the void shattered in on itself like the breaking of a mirror. Gone were the shadows and dead.

In their place a wasteland made of fire and heat.

Selina looked up, her strange purple eyes wide in surprise. "No…"

Batman could only describe what happened next as a vortex of air gathering around them, dragging the eldritch and cackling shapes away from them.

And it was dragging Selina Kyle away too.

"SELINA!" Bruce grabbed her hands which were beginning to look like claws. Even with the armour on, he could feel her nails dig into his skin. The void which was dragging upon Catwoman did not seem to affect the Dark Knight, a reason he would surely work out later, but as he held onto her he too could feel himself being pulled along.

A light layer of magic and smoke peeled off Catwoman's skin like a chrysalis. Beneath the pale and blotted skin was Selina Kyle…the real Selina Kyle.

"BRUCE!" She cried, her voice losing its sultry tones. "Help me!"

"HOLD ON!" Batman reached into a utility belt for a grapple, he shot it directly into the earth beneath him, creating a solid anchor on which he could stand. It gave him enough time to see where the vortex was gravitating, a sliver of red energy glowing in the air with Doctor Fate and Klarion channelling energy both divine and demonic.

The Warp Tear…or at least what was left of it.

Steams of shadows and shapes fluttered into it, sucked in like a vacuum cleaner. Black energy rolled off Superman, Green Arrow and the rest of the league like oil; dragged off to whence it came.

But there was one black stream of horrific energy that did not yet vanish. It was the one that was grappled around Catwoman.

"Don't let me go in there!" She cried, tears streaming down her cheeks and swept up by the magical current engulfing her. "Please save me!"

"I won't let go, just hang on!" Batman called out. "FATE! HELP CATWOMAN!"

Whether the golden helmed sorcerer did not hear him, or chose to ignore his plea he did not know. But the vortex did not cease, and Batman could feel Catwoman's fingers begin to slip out of his hands.

"It's too late Bruce…" Selina whispered, her voice carried in the wind. "I'm rotten."

"No you are not." Batman shook his head holding so tight her bones were beginning to fracture. "We're going to help you. We can fix this."

"Bruce…please." Selina begged. "It's too late. But I beg you please…kill me."

"No!" Batman had enough of this talk about death, this is not why he signed up with the Justice League. He joined up to save lives, not take them.

"Bruce!" She pleaded, her voice full of panic and terror. "Don't let the Warp take me! They showed what they would do to me! It's worse than death itself!"

Batman paled under the mask, his mind wandering to places he dare not go, had it not been for the fact the energies of the Warp have shown him already. "I can't…"

"Please Bruce." Selina sobbed, her voice barely a whisper. "Don't let me suffer like that…Save me."

 _Everything I am, everything I have done, was so that I do not have to face death again…._

A flood of dead voices were brought back to the billionaire's mind, the cumulative pain and misery and suffering he caused by his acts of 'valour'…or was it selfishness. The Dark Knight did not know anymore….

" _Oh my boy…You_ _ **disappoint**_ _us so much."_

" _Oh a fucking mommas boy. Is that all you give a shit about, your dead parents? Do you even remember me?"_

" _Poor pathetic boy, still crying for mommy and daddy. Can you just let it go?!"_

" _Come play with us in_ _ **hell**_ _Bruce._ _ **We're all waiting for you."**_

Batman gazed into Selina's desperate and terrified eyes.

"Selina." Bruce whispered. "I'm so sorry…"

Batman drew a batarang and jammed it solidly into her neck. Selina's eyes rolled into the back of her head and her body went limp. A quick and painless kill; Ra's al Ghul would be proud.

The black shadows dislodged from her, and with no anchor in this realm, they were violently drawn back into their own.

Selina Kyle fell to the ground.

0o0o0o

"What are you waiting for Nabu?!" Klarion screeched. "Close the tear now!"

" _ **Not until the last bit of corruption has been cleansed from this universe!"**_ Fate continued.

Amongst the flutter of smoke and shadows a pair of red eyes glowed as hot coal. **wE knoW wHEre you havE Been hIdinG noW. We WilL fInd YoU klArioN. EveN iF it TaKEs an etErNiTY...WE WiLl fiNd You.**

"Good luck with that pal!" The Witch-Boy snarked, betraying a tingling of fear in his voice. "With no more relics in this universe, you will be completely cut off! Guess you will have to spread somewhere else."

But the thing in the Warp laughed something cruel and vile.

 **We aRe sUrpriSEd KlariON, yOu SHOuLD kNow beTTeR tHAn AnyONE, Chaos AlwAys Finds A WAY.**

" _ **IT IS DONE!"**_ Fate channelled a final burst and the tear closed sealing the Warp and the Chaos that came with it. _**"BEGONE!"**_

It was over. Finally.

" _ **It is done."**_ Fate sighed. _**"But it was done at great cost."**_

"Trust me, the cost was well worth paying." Klarion sighed; he was shaken by the Warp creature's last words. It was true; Chaos always finds a way. Klarion escaped from _that_ universe….others could too. But that was something to worry about later, right now he had other things that needed his attention…like Nabu charging a massive blast of magic for him.

" _ **Had you not come to our universe,"**_ Fate growled, glowing energy dancing around his hands, _**"that cost need not have been paid."**_

"I did what I had to do, Nabu!" Klarion glared back. "I regret nothing. If you want to start something over this, then by all means; ring the bell."

Fate stood still for what seemed like minutes before he powered down his magic. _**"There has been enough destruction for one day. We shall settle our battle another time."**_

Klarion grinned as he began to fade. "Can't wait old fart. See you around."

The air was still and quiet, the only sounds were of that of heroes fallen coming to their senses, Captain Marvel nursing a broken jaw, Wonder Woman sheathing her sword, a dark knight whispering to a cold dead body…

…and a Tech-Priest sleeking silently away in the confusion.

0o0o0o

Selina's body grew cold, her womb and neck have long since stopped bleeding. But her face, was not one of terror or pain. It was of peace and serenity.

"Selina…I'm so sorry." Bruce whispered, cradling her body upon the ground. Covering her with his cape as a form of modesty. He could feel something behind him, something bright and warm. It was, to Bruce's shame, something that alleviated his pain albeit barely.

" _ **No one could save her Batman."**_ Doctor Fate commented.

"I tried to help her…but all I did was kill her." The Dark Knight tried to hide his tears.

" _ **But you have helped her."**_ Doctor Fate radiated. _**"Her soul is free now from the foul machinations of the Warp. She is at peace."**_

"But she is dead." Batman grew angry. "And I killed her."

" _ **You saved her, Batman. In life she was condemned. In death she had been saved."**_ Doctor Fate pondered. _**"Chaos would have never left her go; she was the one last anchor into this universe. Had they consumed her, she would be subject to a horrible fate. There was no other way."**_

"I can't accept that." Batman choked. "There had to be another way. There always is."

" _ **I have told you what I know."**_ Doctor Fate floated away. _**"You can choose to accept this as the best possible outcome, or you can let it destroy you from within. This decision is up to you."**_

Batman remained motionless, alone with his own thoughts.

0o0o0o

"Shayera!" Katar Hol embraced his wife with a hug that would break human spines and Shayera returned it with a passionate kiss, one which they will likely continue later in private.

Green Arrow was trying his best to remain steady as if he woke from a drunken stupor, his face pale and shaken. "Dinah, please it's okay…nothing will happen I promise." His reassurances meant nothing to Black Canary whose jaw was locked shut and she refused to speak.

The Green Lanterns were recovering faster than most. Their rings glowed dimly; evidence that their wielders' resolve remained intact but thoroughly shaken.

Captain Atom stood alone on the edge of the Crossroads (or what was left of them) absorbing the radiation from the blast, and his mind dwelling on things he had lost.

Captain Marvel was reassuring Flash for the umpteenth time through a swollen jaw, that he could see him and the scarlet speedster was not trapped in the speed force.

Aquaman dreamed of the seas and wondering what kind of king abandons his kingdom for people that are not his own.

"Get away from me!" Superman cried, his mind reeling from the assault from that rotting old man. _Welcome to the family son…_

"Clark… _relax_." Wonder Woman was tired and stress and she did not need Superman freaking out. "It's over. It was just a nightmare, that's all."

"It can't be…" The kryptonian's eyes refocused. "It was so real…"

"It's gone now." Wonder Woman smiled weakly. "You missed quite a battle."

"I guess I did." Superman surveyed the devastation. "What happened?"

"Our 'guest', crashed the Watchtower into the Warp tear." Wonder Woman nodded grimly. "It was crude…but very effective. Victory is ours."

"The Watchtower…" Clark's eyes gawked. "What happened to Red Tornado?" The look that the Amazon gave him said she was thinking about something similar. The frown on her face told him everything. "Oh no."

"We have a huge mess." Wonder Woman stretched her neck. "The army is probably moving in by now and they will have a lot of questions."

"I can't even begin how to explain this." Superman looked over at the Dark Knight. "Hey is he alright?"

A crackle over their earpieces interrupted the awkward explanation. _"This is Martian Manhunter to any Justice League! Can you hear me?"_

"J'onn? This is Diana." Wonder Woman touched the earpiece. "Are you alright? We could certainly use yo-"

" _There is no time for pleasantries."_ The Manhunter's voice was panicked. _"I have been trying to reach you for almost an hour."_

"What's wrong?"

" _I relayed the information I gained from the Tech-Priest to the Collective."_ J'onn's voice descended into a whisper, like he was hiding. _"They are not pleased with what they saw. They have assembled the army! They are heading for Earth right now!"_

"What?" Wonder Woman turned to the rest of the league, all of them paused in both surprise and frustration; _will this horrible night ever end?_

" _They are heading to you right now! Contact the Green Lantern Corps and get Stewart and Jordan up there now! Before-"_ J'onn was interrupted by what sounded like the discharge of a weapon. _"AGH! They've found me! You have to organise a defence! Do it before it's too-"_

J'onn's communication went silent.

 _That can't be good._ Wonder Woman paled. "John, Hal, get up there now!"

Both Green Lanterns were still rattled but complied nonetheless. With green armour encompassing them, they shot up into the sky.

It seems the night is not yet over.

0o0o0o

Cardsharp was tired and stressed. The Tech-Priest ran as fast as his bulk would take him, his damaged servo-skulls gathered in his arms.

When he dreamed on going on adventures, he thought about joining one of the great Explorator Fleets of the Adeptus Mechanicus, travelling the galaxy for STC's long since buried. Running around Terra with aliens, heretics and mutants combating Chaos was not the Tech-Priest's idea of a good time.

But that chapter is now closed, literally. Now Cardsharp had to deal with the matter of the Justice League's 'rehabilitation'.

Fighting them was out of the question. He could _probably_ take on the more human members, but the rest…forget it. Cardsharp cannot win, he knows that now. He accepted it. Now he had to find a way around it.

He had to find a way back home.

He just reached the edge of the crater of what was Roanoke Island, in the distance he could see hundreds of humans armed to the teeth with weapons, and the Tech-Priest nearly laughed.

 _Those are tanks…I have seen Chimera's bigger than them!_

 _= Status: Scanning =_

 _= Result: Vehicle identified =_

 _This must have been right outside of Fate's shield._ Cardsharp stumbled across a sleek looking vehicle, it was painted blood red. Its only identifying mark was that of a black horse over a yellow sigil with the word 'Ferrari' underneath.

A scan revealed a dead body in the trunk. This must have been Calig's transportation.

 _Oh Omnissiah, may your boundless mercy save this man who was condemned by Chaos_. Cardsharp prayed as he removed the recently deceased man from the trunk and laid him on the side of the road.

He placed KA63 and KA64 gently on the passenger side of the car and squeezed into the driving side with about as much grace as a man with Ominissiah knows how much electronics attached to him could.

Calig graciously left the keys in the ignition. Although time was of the essence now, the Tech-Priest remembered his vows and as strange as the situation was Master Kyriz would not want him to waiver. Cardsharp prayed.

 _The soul of the Machine God surrounds thee.  
The power of the Machine God invests thee.  
The hate of the Machine God drives thee.  
The Machine God endows thee with life.  
Live!_

The Tech-Priest turned on the ignition and the Ferrari hummed to life with a purr.

 _= Vehicle user interface analysed =_

Cardsharp placed the car into gear and drove as fast as he could. His destination was far away, and he had little time to waste.

Before the Tech-Priest sent the Watchtower and the Abominable Intelligence hurtling right into the Warp rift, he downloaded all data he could into his memory banks. In particular, that cogitator that would not identify itself; a backdoor system which he could not remotely access. However thanks to the Omnissiah, Cardsharp managed to locate its coordinates.

The cogitator was located at a place called 'Wayne Manor'.

 _= Co-ordinates entered =_

 _= Status: Navigating =_

The min-cogitator began to blare and played something that could only be described as 'music'.

' _I gotta feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night  
That tonight's gonna be a good night  
That tonight's gonna be a good, good night'_

Cardsharp stared at the radio as if it was possessed; that did not sound like any hymn to the Ominissiah and/or God-Emperor the Tech-Priest had ever heard of. _Commissar Gevin would probably have stroke if he were here._

0o0o0o

So let's see; Red Tornado, Kent Nelson and Selina Kyle. I think that calls it a day.

Hopefully the controversial moment with Batman was not too far-fetched. I find his rule to be 'okayish' at the best of times but I would think in this one instance, where everything has gone to hell, he would bend. It just seemed appropriate; a boy who has woken up to finally see the world as it is. Not as he wants it to be.

Hope you liked it fells.

And remember, reviews are pleasing to the Omnissiah.


	10. Chapter 10

Surprise!

Hey ladies and gents.

I know this is a bit sudden, but this chapter has been in the making for quite some time. Hopefully it does not disappoint, and answers some of your questions.

I'm grateful to all those who stuck around, your reviews and your questions.

I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 10

In the void of space between Earth and Mars, two green dots of light zipped across the cosmos.

"Killawog, this is Hal do you read me?" The first Green Lantern called into his ring.

" _Killawog here. Jordan that you?"_ A voice responded. _"What the hell is going on in your sector? I'm hearing reports about a demonic invasion in progress."_

"Not anymore." Jordan shivered as his mind wandered back to that dark tunnel and dead girl. "It's been put down. But what got much bigger problems; the Martians are planning an attack on Earth!"

" _Oh…"_ Killawog went eerily silent on the other end of the line. _"How big of an attack are we talking here?"_

"Uhhh…." Jordan looked at his colleague, John. "We don't know, we were told it was big."

"Jordan, you know I am with you." Killawog sighed. "But you know the rules, I cannot mobilize an entire segment of the Corps just on a whim. You have to have extenuating circumstances."

"Well, we are here and we cannot see anything." Stewart gazed into deep space. "J'onn's ship can cloak, it would be logical that military vessels would have the same ability if not better."

"So we need to force them out of cloaking…. You thinking what I am thinking?" Hal smirked.

"You know it." Stewart nodded.

Both Green Lanterns, thanks to years of practicing slung their rungs, but not it a way that discharged offensive energy, but rather passive energy fields. Thousands of particles zipped out of every direction of kilometres floating…searching….

…and finally sticking to anything it touched like glitter.

"Holy Sweet Jesus…."Stewart gazed in complete awe. "It's a whole damn army!"

There were ships. Martian bio-ships...hundreds…. _thousands_. They were everywhere.

They decloaked to reveal their red hull glint against the sun's rays. But they were not the sleek an aerodynamic glider that they saw the Manhunter use. They were intimidating and edge-like in design, forming a thin line that made it almost impossible to see from the front; like an assassin's dagger floating in space.

They all sported a symbol that looked similar to the Martian Manhunter they all knew. But rather than a red 'X' over a green background, it was black cross with a blood red background and encompassed in a green circle.

The sigil of the Martian Military.

"You see that Killawog!" Hal pointed his ring out, allowing his alien colleague to see through the former pilot's point of view. "I am calling extenuating circumstances! We need backup right now!"

Hal could hear Killawog sucking in a deep breath over his communication link. _"Roger that, Jordan. Back up is en route. Don't get yourself killed in the meantime."_

0o0o0o

' _Sir…'_ A young Martian interrupted with a nervous telepathic thought. ' _We…uh…we've been spotted.'_

' _I can see that helmsman.'_ Ma'alefa'ak's mind seethed. ' _How did they get out position? It's like they knew we were coming.'_

' _Sir, I received a report from HQ.'_ The young helmsman gulped. _'Sir, Red Dawn caught your brother communicating with the Justice League. They have arrested him.'_

' _WHAT?!'_ The Deputy Director of Special Operations physically choked.

A communicator to the side raised his hand. ' _Sir, we are being hailed by the two Green Lanterns.'_

' _Of course. Plan B it is.'_ Ma'alefa'ak approached the terminal. ' _Put them on screen.'_

One of the many terminals morphed into a screen, two Green Lanterns appeared side by side. From the point of view, it looked like the transmission was coming from their rings.

"I am Hal Jordan, Green Lantern of Sector 2814."

"I am John Stewart, Green Lantern of Sector 2814, to whom are we speaking?"

The elder J'onzz spoke with as neutral a tone that he could muster. "I am Brigadier-General Ma'alefa'ak, Deputy-Director of Special Operations of the Martian Army."

"General Ma'alefa'ak," John Steward nodded in respect, "why are you coming to Earth in full force?"

"To destroy it, Green Lanterns. I thought that was abundantly clear." It was amusing to watch the two humans look at each other dumb-struck.

"If it is about the Chaos Incursion," John Steward reproached, "I can assure you it has been put down."

"We are aware," Ma'alefa'ak nodded, "but it does not matter. The defeat of the Chaos incursion would have been little more than a minor benefit of your planet's destruction. If anything, it makes this job of ours easier."

"But…Why?" Hal Jordan asked.

"You know why Green Lanterns." Ma'alefa'ak smiled coldly. "J'onn J'onzz was kind enough to inform us about your guest from the future. I'm sure you as Green Lanterns would appreciate, that us Martians have to look out for our own interests."

Both green heroes looked at each other in realisation. Hal nervously licked his lips. "There is still some debate about whether it truly is the future. I can assure you, that we are looking into it."

"Forgive me," Ma'alefa'ak chuffed, "but I find your assurances to be of no value."

"The assurance of a Green Lantern means nothing to you?" John Stewart's eyes narrowed.

"The assurances of a _human_ , Green Lantern." Ma'alefa'ak corrected. "How can I trust my people's future of aliens that could be responsible for our extinction?"

"That future is still in dispute!" Hal yelled. "There is an argument that he is not even from this universe."

"Future, parallel dimension, ascended reality, or alternate universe means nothing." Ma'alefa'ak shrugged. "I am sure you are familiar with the temporal transmission theory?"

"The what?" John barked. "You're making that up!"

"The temporal transmission theory?! That does not give you the right to commit genocide!" Hal gasped. "That theory has not even been verified!"

"This argument is pointless." Ma'alefa'ak reached for a data pad, looking through a series of regulations. "In accordance with Article 9-24, subsection 3 (Z) of the Interstellar Law of Oa, I hereby declare this conflict with the humans of Earth a matter of 'temporal self-defence'."

Both Lanterns looked dumbfounded; according to that provision, they could do nothing.

"General…please." Hal pleaded. "Please don't do this…give us more time."

"You have had your time, Green Lanterns." Ma'alefa'ak straightened. "Now please, do us a favour and vacate the battle zone immediately. I am sure there are other conflicts around the sector that require your attention."

"To hell with that!" John Stewart's ring glowed an eerie green painting the red Martian ships with an unpleasant grey colour. Hal Jordan was muttering himself trying to sort it out.

"I should warn you Green Lanterns." Ma'alefa'ak smiled. "Martians are made for two things: fighting…and winning."

"WAIT! I GOT IT! We won't have to fight." Hal gestured his colleague to power down his ring. "If you want to quote sections at me, here is one for you. Article 9-24, subsection 13 (F) of the Interstellar Law of Oa; any and all temporal phenomena must be verified with the Guardians. You allege temporal self-defence, you have to put your case to the Guardians. Taking action without consulting them is a very _grave_ offence."

"True. I'm willing to wait." Ma'alefa'ak was unperturbed, he kind of expected that. "But we both know what happens if our case is successfully proven…"

Both Green Lanterns dared not consider it.

0o0o0o

It was the middle of the night when all fifteen members of the United Nations Security Council met. Sleep was heavy in their eyes.

They met in 405 East 42nd Street, New York City, New York which was the United Nations Headquarters.

However, the room they were in was not the glamorous Security Council Chamber which took up part of the second and third floors. Rather they met on the 13th floor of in an unmarked office.

The meeting not meant to be recorded, for the public did not need to hear it.

They were watching a series of televisions on the wall.

" _Cat Grant of GBS-"_

" _Barnell Jones of Star City-"_

" _It has been confirmed, a nuclear detonation has occurred in North Carolina-"_

" _Ladies and gentlemen, a tragedy of unprecedented proportions-"_

" _The Justice League was on Roanoke Island-"_

" _We have not been granted access, as the military has cordoned off-"_

" _Roanoke Island in North Carolina is gone-"_

"Everyone seen enough?" The chairman turned off the television sets.

"Are we sure this is the Justice League's fault?" The Lebanon representative spoke. "We are talking about Earth's greatest champions."

"We are talking about vigilantes who we tolerate because we can't find a way to bring them to heel." The Mexican delegation spat. "My country is still irritated that the Justice League charter passed UN Resolution."

"My continent, much less my country has many problems," the Nigerian representative rubbed his eyes, "I do not see Superman or other members of the League coming to aid us."

"Here, here." The Gabon representative kowtowed. "We have been denied assistance when dealing with Bialya. From what I gathered South Rhelasia has been denied again for dealing with North Rhelasia. Perhaps if we were _American,_ we would not have this problem."

"You know as part of the charter, the Justice League can only conduct law enforcement, search and rescue." The British representative rolled his eyes. "They cannot conduct nor enforce foreign policy, even if it is the UN's."

"As part of that charter, it also says that they have to keep the Justice League UN Reporting Committee informed of actions conducted especially those of global significance." The Turkish representative countered. "We spoke to the Committee chair, she has not heard from the League in three months. You would have thought a demonic invasion would have been reportable."

"It also says, that they agreed to abide by all UN treaties." The Austrian representative added. "Since when did they have the right to operate a _**fucking**_ orbital satellite over Earth without our knowledge or consent?"

"They don't." The Russian representative concluded. "But that does not matter. What matters is that now we have an alien armada approaching Earth."

The delegates murmured as they looked at giant pictures taken from several dozen satellites, thousands of ships coming from the red planet, they were confirmed to be warships. They were holding position, likely due to the interference of the Green Lanterns. But only fools would believe that would last forever.

"The Martians normally adopted an isolationist policy. One which we are happy to oblige." The chairman muttered. "But that policy seems to have changed. They have been docked in the same location for almost three hours now. I have spoken with representatives of all military alliances from IMAFT to NATO; we do not have the ability to defend ourselves against an alien attack. Nor do we have a deterrent policy."

"Deterrent policies do not calm anything down, if anything they increase tensions." The French representative interrupted.

"Perhaps." The chairman acknowledged. "But if these guys are going to start knocking on our door, we will need something in reserve. We cannot rely on the Justice League, tonight's actions have indicated that much. If we want to be ready, we have to work together. So we have to place cards on the table. Does anyone want to share any classified operations they are conducting?"

The word trust was not used, but it was implied. Several members scoffed, trust does not exist in politics. Seconds of silence turned into minutes.

"Very well." The chairman sighed. "I'll go first. After the Justice Society of America underwent a dissolution, the US Government has undertaken a special sub-branch operated by the US Air Force. It recruits incarcerated criminals as expendable assets for the purposes of dealing with extraordinary threats."

"And international assassination, I'm sure." The Russian delegate smirked.

"…yes." The chairman conceded. "The branch is designated Task Force X. Its nickname is the Suicide Squad."

The silence held with a combination of surprise and outrage.

"Well if we are playing confession," the Russian delegate chuckled, "I guess I should mention the FSB has a similar organisation called Red Shadow."

"France has been operating an organisation called Department Gamma." The French representative tapped his desk. "While they are not Justice League, they will do in a pinch."

"Huh…" The chairman blinked. "Does the Chinese representative wish to add anything?"

"The Chinese army is a bit larger than you think." The Chinese representative sweated. "We have a special corps of some million strong force dedicated to dealing with paranormal or interstellar threats. We have been experimenting with some alien weaponry that we…acquired through…various means. It is called: Rénfáng jūn."

"Human Defence Force." The chairman nodded, both impressed at the scale, and infuriated that such a thing was successfully hidden. "Apt."

The Lebanon representative finished leasing with several of his colleagues. "Gabon, Nigeria and my country form part of the Islamic Military Alliance. We have had…. 'dealings' with an Israeli Mossad group called the Hayoth. There is an additional group of terrorists called Onslaught in Qurac. We have been dealing with both of them through a sub-group called Knightwatch."

"Interesting." The chairman made a mental note to contact the Israeli Prime Minister for a little chat. "Very interesting…we have an army."

"We may have an army. But that means nothing against something that will try and destroy us by orbit." Russia rubbed his chin. "Everything I have heard indicate a ground focused element. We need space superiority."

"Agreed." The chairman nodded. "But perhaps the primary contractor of the US and the UK can provide some insight." He pressed a button on speaker. "Send him in."

The door opened automatically and an impeccably dressed man in a suit, with green eyes and bald head.

"May I introduce Lex Luthor." The chairman gestured. "I'm sure you are all acquainted with his reputation."

0o0o0o

The military slowly closed in, most of the Justice League remained to allow debrief; give the people some reassurance that everything is okay. Not all remained, Captain Marvel, Hawkman and Hawkwoman left to lick their wounds. Aquaman used his royal prerogative to return to the sea. Flash and Green Arrow were huddling next to Black Canary, convincing her it was okay to speak.

Doctor Fate floated above the field. Searching….looking for anything that may have slipped his grasp.

"It's clear sir." Colonel Sam Lane concluded. "All radiation has been absorbed by Captain Atom."

"Excellent." General Eiling undid the top of the radiation suit (god it was hot). "Well done Captain." Captain Atom nodded, but said nothing, his mind clearly elsewhere.

"Now pleasantries aside." Eiling rounded on the 'Trinity' of the League. "You mind telling me what the FUCK HAPPENED?!"

 _He had a voice on him, that's for sure._ Wonder Woman winced. "General please understand, we minimised the damage as best as we could."

"'Minimised'?" The general gestured at the smouldering crater they stood in. "Wonder Woman, if the whole hero thing fails, you have a career in comedy! Minimised?!"

"And what the hell was that thing that landed and caused an explosion greater than any nuke I have ever seen?"

"The Watchtower." Superman confessed. "A base in high orbit where the Justice League conducts most operations."

"Sounds like you meant to say 'orbital battle station'." Eiling spat. "Why did you crash it?"

"Well…you see…" Superman blushed.

"The Chaos incursion was too much for the Justice League to handle, we feared containment was breached." Batman answered with a tone betraying how little he cared about the General's concerns. "We ordered Red Tornado to commence a de-orbit burn to crash into the Chaos incursion. Thankfully we were saved by Doctor Fate, but it was too late for Red Tornado."

It took every ounce of Wonder Woman's millennia and training to not gawk at Batman's lie. _What was he doing?_

The old general blinked in surprised. "Red Tornado has been destroyed?"

"He died saving us." Batman repeated. Wonder Woman and Superman backed away, allowing the Dark Knight to weave his magic.

"And who are they?" Batman followed the general's finger tracing it to the bodies of Kent Nelson…and Selina Kyle.

"League associates..." Batman's face contorted into an incredible frown. "…and casualties of war."

" _Justice League, Jordan and Stewart here."_ The transmission crackled over the radio.

The Dark Knight sighed reaching for his earpiece. "…Batman go."

Hal replied first, words flying as quickly as possible. _"Green Lanterns have shown up along with several guardians. There is a preliminary hearing?"_

"A hearing?" Superman raised a brow. "For what?"

" _The Martians."_ Stewart sounded murderously furious. _"They are applying for a legal foundation for the destruction of Earth."_

"They can't be serious." Superman forgot to breathe. "They can't be serious!"

" _Oh they are."_ Hal muttered over the channel. _"The Guardians were very thorough. But this provision is so little known, there has never been a case for it. They are calling all parties to be involved. Apparently the United Nations has already been notified. You are required here. Now."_

"Someone get Cardsharp…." Batman paused in realisation and spun around. "Where the hell is the Tech-Priest?!"

Eiling looked very confused. "Who are you talking to? What is a Tech-Priest?"

"He's not with you?" Green Arrow raised a brow.

"Fate." Batman looked up. "Can you find him?"

" _ **There is too much interference from the explosion and the Martians approaching."**_ Fate glanced in all directions. _**"I cannot yet locate him."**_

"Martians?!" The General's head spun.

"I can scan around." Flash zipped. "He could not have gone far."

"Dammit…"Batman rattled through his options, none of them good. "We don't have time, we need to get up there now. Fate can you take us there?"

" _ **I can."**_ Fate floated like a bright sun.

"Very well. Do it." Batman nodded. "General we have to go."

Wait, what-" The elderly general was cut off as a bright flash engulfed the Justice League and vanished without a trace. "What the hell is going on?!"

0o0o0o

They met in a grand room forged of green light, almost a perfect replica of the Guardian chambers on Oa. It looked like a court room. In the far corners of the mammoth construct they could see several members of the Corps generating their very surroundings.

The Justice League were quickly greeted by John and Hal. "You guys got here on record time. Where are the others?"

"The Hols, Captain Marvel and Aquaman are heading back to their homes." Batman grumbled. "They have to rest after Roanoke Island…"

… _or what is left of it._ Batman cursed himself, _how could something mess up this badly?! Everything is going wrong._

"Well whatever it is, we have to do it. All the Guardians are here." Hal whispered. "Something like this has never occurred. This case is the first of its kind."

Batman grabbed Hal by his throat. "This is not a case. You are talking about the destruction of Earth and the death of billions of people."

"And the Martians are talking about the death of their entire race in the future." Hal choked. "They have a case."

"You agree with them?" Batman closed his fist even closer.

"Bruce…" Superman whispered placing a gentle hand on his arm. "Let him go."

The voices of ghosts in Batman's mind screamed.

 _Poor pathetic boy, still crying for mommy and daddy. Can you just let it go?!_

Something inside Batman twisted inside, his hands unclasped and Hal coughed something fierce.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Hal breathed.

Batman's voice was barely audible. "I'm sorry…It's just been a little rough."

"Yeah same for me pal!" Hal snapped.

"Listen." John interrupted. "Tensions are high, and we are all a little frayed right now. But we have to keep focus. The competition is here and they look ready."

The League followed Stewart's gaze to the other side of the court. There was only one of them, a green Martian of significant height. He gazed at them with unblinking eyes. "That's Ma'alefa'ak, the commander of the Martian fleet. He is arguing the temporal transmission theory."

"So it's us versus him?" Green Arrow raised a brow. "Should be a cake walk right? This temporal…whatever-it-is?"

"If it were a cake-walk, we would not be here." Hal hushed him. "Trust me, he is bad news. We will need some serious firepower."

A voice called, that can only be described as chipper. "Well if it is firepower you want, you summoned the right man for the job."

The League turned only to immediately regret it.

"Luthor…." Superman growled.

"Ah the Man of Steel." The bald man replied. "How I miss your witty repartee." Luthor was not alone; standing alongside him was the Secretary-General of the United Nations flanked by several bodyguards. Behind them were several members of the United Nations Security Council. 'Pissed off' could not even begin to describe how they looked.

"What are you doing here?" Superman glared.

"Well I am here to help with this hearing." Luthor shined his suit. "Considering you would inevitably be brought in, the UN thought it best that I attend. _Someone_ has to represent the sane and normal humans of Earth."

"Mister Secretary, this man is a-" Superman's accusation was quickly silenced by Wonder Woman with an elbow to his ribs.

"Criminal?" The old man who was approaching the end of his term remained defiant. "Near as I can tell, he is not the one who nuked Roanoke Island."

ALL RISE FOR THE GUARDIANS OF THE UNIVERSE

THIS EMERGENCY HEARING IS NOW IN SESSION

Above they could see the floating grey forms taking their places.

"Excuse me," a Green Lantern that looked like a squid appeared, "may I please show you to your seats?" The members of the UN looked utterly horrified, but they gingerly complied, the security guards trailing beside them.

Batman quietly followed. "We have to sit."

"Not quite yet." Wonder Woman grabbed his arm, her mouth an inch away from his ear. "What was your deal with General Eiling? You lied to him."

"I had to." Batman returned her whisper. "Do you know what is happening? Our timeline may be corrupted. Perhaps irrevocably. Cardsharp's presence here may have changed everything. We have to minimise the impact as much as possible, otherwise we will head down a dark and horrifying path. And you heard what J'onn told us….just as I am sure the Guardians are going to be shown the exact same thing."

0o0o0o

' _Poppin bottles in the ice, like a blizzard  
When we drink we do it right gettin slizzard  
Sippin sizzurp in my ride, in my ride, like Three 6  
Now I'm feelin so fly like a G6'_

 _This is music?_ Cardsharp should have turned off the radio as he got on the Interstate, buut he just could not do it. It was like the Tallarn watching a Baneblade running over heretics (a la Subsector Marxian Campaign); you should not indulge, but you can't look away.

' _Like a G6 like a G6_

 _Now now now now now now I'm feelin so fly like a G6'_

'Party in the USA', 'Take it off', something about a man who can 'Love the way you lie'...it kept on going. _Who the hell is this 'eenie meenie miney mo lover'? By the Ominissiah, what is this this stuff?_

Before he knew it, the Tech-Priest was in Gotham City, which was good considering how low on fuel he was. Cardsharp was surprised, he thought the League would have caught him by now. _Thank the Machine God for small mercies._

Gotham City was much different to the cities that came before it. The place almost looked like it was forged by an architect of the Administratum, only on a much smaller scale. None of the cities he saw would even qualify as a city block on a standard Hive World.

This 'Wayne Manor' was just outside the city, in a suburb called Pettsburg. A place far away from the cramped city skyline. It screamed 'wealthy'.

As he got closer to the co-ordinates he began to slow until he finally came to a stop in front of a gate with a large 'W' emblazoned on the front. He was halfway tempted to ram the gate, but this vehicle was not a tank and Kyriz would never forgive him if he recklessly crashed the able beast whose fuel gauge was teetering on empty for the past two hours.

 _Thank you Machine Spirit, for our safe arrival._ Cardsharp turned off the Ferrari whose engine faded into silence. _You have done honour to yourself and the Machine God. Rest and be reborn anew._

KA63 and KA64 beeped and whistled once more. During the drive, the Tech-Priest managed to get them back online using a spare mechandrite or two. Both by the grace of the Machine Spirits that dwelled within came to Cardsharp's service once again. The Tech-Priest was most grateful.

Once more into the breach, Cardsharp pulled out his Omnissian Power Axe which he held in his robe. The eradication ray was sadly too damaged to be repaired in the field. _May its Machine Spirit forgive me._

Cardsharp approached the gate, halfway expecting there to be guards or turrets or artillery. But all was eerily quiet. KA64 used on of its many dangling mechandrites; a blow torch in this case and began to cut through the metal lock.

 _That cogitator is the key._ Cardsharp's internals surged in anticipation. _It's time to finish this._

0o0o0o

Normally Alfred is sound asleep in bed by now, but based on what Master Richard told him and the recent news of what happened on Roanoke Island, he feared with worst. He tried calling him repeatedly, but ever since the Watchtower went down, communications seemed to go along with it. Richard 'Dick' Grayson was currently glued to the television waiting for word…any word. Alfred felt as anxious as any parent would, and after tonight he swore he lost a decade of life from the stress alone.

Ding, dong.

The Wayne Manor doorbell classic and as finely tuned as ever radiated throughout the house. Alfred was so startled he nearly dropped his tea. "Who could it be at this hour?"

"Want me to get it Alfred?" Dick called out.

"Nonsense." Alfred called back, straightening his suit. "You stay there and keep watching, keep on calling Master Bruce."

Ding, dong.

Alfred hurried his pace to reach the door. _Hopefully it is good news_ , he thought. Alfred struggled to keep a positive mindset; he just wished this night would end.

He opened the door

There was a man.

No a boy. Most of his form enshrouded in a red robe, but his head was revealed by the light of Wayne Manor. Most of his face looked 'normal', granted his head was shaved and there was significant bruising and evidence of lacerations along his skull.

But his right eye glowed blood red, and large gash along his temple sparked with electricity.

Black mechanical tendrils floated behind him, and two eerily looking 'cannons' whirred and clicked finally locking onto the butler.

His words were as cold as ice, and as mechanical as a clock. "Good evening."

VZZAP!

An electrical surge came out of his from and shot into the elderly man sending him careening back, sliding along the freshly polished floor. Alfred yelped in pain as the electricity passed through him.

"Alfred what is going on?!" Dick called out.

"Master Richard don't come in here! Get out of the mansion! Call the police!" Alfred warned the young ward, and gritted his teeth realising that Master Dick was about to do the exact opposite.

"Where is the cogitator?" The mechanical man stepped in, two skulls floated beside him one with a deadly array of instruments the other with a _Gatling gun_ strapped to its underside. He carried a large metal axe forged with a skull at its centre.

"Cogitator?" Alfred was stunned. "What is a cogitator?"

"You call it a computer. The one connected to the Justice League Watchtower." He replied stepping closer, his robe parted to reveal bulky metal legs. "Where is it?"

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" A young voice echoed, followed swiftly by the nimble form of a 13 year old boy careening through an air like the bird he was named after and landed a kick on the red-robed cyborg.

The cyborg was sent stumbling back, not far, but far enough for Robin to get between him and the Wayne butler. "Alfred, get out of here. I got him."

The old man nodded and began running up the main stairway, looking for his trusty shotgun. Master Bruce and Master Richard may have an aversion to using fire arms, but Pennyworth had no such compulsions, especially when the enemy is at the Wayne Manor's gates.

"Alright you asshole. It's just you and….you." Robin's mouth gaped. "You're the one from Gotham Museum."

"I recall you too." The cyborg tightened his grip on his axe. "Where is the cogitator? The one connected to the Justice League Watchtower?"

"Bad news pal, no one here but us." Robin readied a trio his trusty batarangs behind him. But his cockiness was slightly sidestepped as he felt a wave of….something wash over him. Like he was being…scanned?

"You are lying to me." The red robed boy replied. Robin got a better gauge of his height, he was notably taller than him. "You will show me to the cogitator. And you will lay down your weapons."

Robin chuckled. "And if I don't?"

Robin's somewhat dumb question was answered as the servo-skull with a Gatling gun began to hum and spin. He dodged out of the way as the thing began to fire _freaking_ lasers aimed directly for his legs.

Steams of deadly light began to trace his movements, but Robin threw the batarangs directly at the cyborg. One was sidestepped slightly but the other two hit their mark; left shoulder and arm. But he did not cry out in pain.

 _Okay then. Plan B._ Robin dropped a smoke grenade hoping to obscure his vision. He leapt up in the air….only to be hit in the side of his ribs.

He barely recovered; although he landed on his feet, his broken ribs compromised him making him stumble and knock over a rather expensive vase. _Bruce is going to kill me,_ Robin chided himself.

The red-robed cyborg walked out of the smoke, his right eye gleaming and strangle metal cabling writhing behind him. "Take me to the cogitator or I will have no choice but to kill you."

"If you are really made of metal, then this should hurt." Robin readied his taser and fired centre mass. A buzz of blue electricity followed up the conducting wiring attacking the cyborg.

The cyborg, twitched and shouted in pain. _He's distracted,_ Robin grinned, _perfect._

"Talk about a shocking development!" Robin laughed; sure puns are a crime against humor, but hey you got to have a little fun even in the midst of a battle.

But Robin made an error, he was so focused on Cardsharp and that floating Gatling gun skull, he failed to notice where the other floating nightmare was.

Out of his peripheral an object flew right at him at speed of 30 kilometres per hour.

And when it hit Robin square in the head, he dropped like a rock.

Lights out.

0o0o0o

CRUNCH!

Cardsharp winced as he heard the sound of a skull fracturing. KA64's form was reinforced with titanium steel. This Richard, or whatever his name was; his skull was not.

The boy fell to the ground, blood pouring from his nose and the wound on his forehead. Cardsharp yanked metal wiring from the taser out and towered over the masked child. _He's my age…no, younger._

A scan told the Tech-Priest he was alive, but was seriously injured. _All I want is that blasted cogitator._

CH-CHUNK! The Tech-Priest may have found himself in the past, but the cocking of a weapon is the same no matter what time you are in.

"DON'T MOVE!" Cardsharp looked up to see the old man called Alfred at the top of the stairs.

"You son of a bitch." Alfred noticed the crumbled form of the boy bleeding at the Tech-Priest's feet. "If he dies, so do you."

He was aiming down the sights of a weapon in his hands, it did not look pleasant.

 _=Status: Scanning =_

 _= Result: Double metal barrel, single slug based projectile weapon. Likelihood of causing significant damage at range: 83.9% =_

 _Deploy Countermeasure A9-32._

 _=Status: Deploying =_

 _= Glory to the Omissiah =_

 _++ Oh blessed Machine Spirt++_ Cardsharp prayed _++Know that I serve your lord and creator the Machine God. Your wielder is a villain and fiend. Fight by my side, resist your wielders' foul machinations. In the name of the Machine God, resist!++_

 _= Countermeasure deployed =_

 _= Faith in the Cult Mechanicus is absolute =_

 _= May thou, a noble follower of the Machine God be unabated =_

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

 _Glory to the Omnissiah._ Cardsharp finished praying and took a step forward, to provoke the old man. _May my faith be rewarded._

The old man pulled the trigger.

Click.

Nothing.

It worked; _Omnissiah be praised._

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

"What?" Alfred gazed at the gun in horror. "Misfire?!"

Cardsharp seized his chance, he picked up the bleeding boy carefully by the back of his neck and his head and held him right in front the butler's line of fire.

By the time the old man resolved the jam, it was too late. The second time his eyes aimed down the sights of his weapon, he turned a shade of deathly white.

"This boy is dying. You cannot win." Cardsharp spoke. "Relinquish your weapon."

"No." Alfred paled and complied as quickly as I could. "Don't hurt him."

KA64 floated up the stairs and with a tiny mechandrite pulled the gun out of Alfred's hand taking it well away from his reach.

"Where is the cogitator?" Cardsharp asked again.

"Let me help him." Alfred tried to move down the stairs.

"Do not move." Cardsharp ordered KA63 to lock onto the old man. "Give me the location of the cogitator and you may assist him."

"Have a heart! He's just a boy." Alfred cried. "He's dying!"

"I have three hearts." Cardsharp rebutted. "You want to save him, give me what I want. Do it quickly, while he still has time."

"O-okay. I'll do it." Alfred wiped the tears away from his eyes. "Just don't hurt him….I need to…I need to go to the library, it's just across the hall."

"Move. Quickly." Cardsharp backed away, keeping the limp body in front of him. "Richard's life is in your hands Alfred. Do not fail him."

Alfred's eyes turned a watery red, but said nothing. He ran, practically sprinted down the stairs and across the hall, the servo-skulls in tow. He entered a room with many books and was ornately furnished.

The old man stood before a grand piano, and began to play a tune.

 _What is he doing?_ Cardsharp's curiosity was answered. A bookcase, clicked and swung open revealing a dark narrow passage. _Fascinating…_

"Come quickly!" Alfred urged as he went down the stairs. "Hurry!"

KA63 and KA64 trailed ahead keeping the old man in sight and scanning for any traps. There were none.

Cardsharp followed, keeping his hands steady around his hostage, warm blood running through his hands.

 _There you are…._

The Tech-Priest entered a cave, vast and dark to the human eye, but to the Adepts specialised vision sensors he could see everything clearly including the strange creatures that hung upside down on ceiling.

But the real prize was the cogitator. There is was, black and sleek and encompassed a large terminal that stretch a significant portion of the back wall of the cave.

"There! There is your bloody computer!" Alfred held his hands out. "Give him to me. I can help him using the medical bay just there."

Cardsharp looked at the medical bay through a spare optic, which was less than a few meters away. "Very well."

Alfred ran to the medical bay and pulled out a gurney rolling toward the Tech-Priest and his injured hostage. Cardsharp assisted in laying 'Richard' on the gurney, being sure to keep his head steady and still. Alfred began to wheel him away, but not without company.

 _KA63 and KA64 on sentry mode. Track target._

 _= KA63 and KA64 Sentry Mode online =_

 _= Tracking =_

The two servo-skulls slowly floated around the old man as he began preparing instruments, ready to fire the moment he so much as twitched.

Cardsharp on the other hand, had bigger circuits to fry.

 _++ Greetings Machine Spirit ++_ Cardsharp allowed one of his mechandrites to jack into the system.

= _Unknown Network Connection. Status: Accessing =_

 _= Error: Unknown Encryption in Effect. Running Algorithms =_

 _++ Oh blessed Machine Spirit ++_ Cardsharp prayed. _++ I beseech thee, show me the knowledge you possess ++_

If it was remote access like it was with the Watchtower, Cardsharp would have failed. But that was not the case anymore.

 _= Security Lowered. Unknown Network Connection accessed =_

 _= Internal Network: Bat Computer =_

And then _everything_ flooded Cardsharp's memory banks.

 _Perfect,_ the Tech-Priest smiled. _Absolutely perfect._

0o0o0o

The Guardians were methodical as they were strict. Every member of the Justice League that was present was called to testify as to what they saw.

They kept coming back to _that_ universe; the one from which the Tech-Priest came from.

An alternate universe that was not even close to being alternate.

Chaos; evil in its purest and cruelest form.

Ancient Necrons.

Decadent Eldar.

The walking plague that was the Orks.

The Tyranids bent on devouring the galaxy, one of the last glimpses of light in the abyss.

A dying reality which was infected like a cancer with horrors unthinkable, monsters unkillable and powers unknowable. And like any cancer it tried to spread.

 _That_ universe is supposed to be isolated from the others. Sealed off by magic and science and other powers to prevent its spread. But something went wrong, whether it be by design or blind luck, Chaos managed to latch onto this universe.

No one was questioning that the incursion is over, and now more than ever _that_ dying tormented universe is once again isolated. The question the Guardians were trying to determine is whether the cancer has now spread to their own universe and if so, does it warrant action so extreme as to destroy Earth.

"Nabu," the head Guardian asked, "perhaps you will be able to define for the record the 'temporal transmission theory'?"

" _ **It is a hypothesis that provides when two universe make even the slightest contact with another, even if you cleanly separate them, temporal energy will still be exchanged. As time is fluid, it is an energy that can bypass even the most powerful of magic and science, like water leaking through a siv."**_ Fate droned. _ **"It provides that in such cases, fates and futures can be tainted, making the future of one universe share similar events to another."**_

"So a brief link of universes' such as what has transpired, can result in us sharing the same future as _that_ universe?"

" _ **Not exactly the same, and that is presuming it will happen at all. There will be significant deviations."**_ Fate explained _ **. "There are things simply too large to simply be transferred. But some elements are possible."**_

"Like an Imperium of Man?" The head Guardian commented.

" _ **Yes."**_

"Or as General Ma'alefa'ak fears; that Mars could belong to humans?" The Guardian continued probing.

" _ **Yes."**_ Doctor Fate set his argument. _**"But there is one incontrovertible fact. One that not even the Star Coven can deny; the future is not set. It may be certain, it may even be likely. But it is not guaranteed."**_

"Thank you Nabu," the head Guardian smiled, "you may be seated."

"The universe of issue, the one where the Chaos incursion originates from, is known to us." A Guardian frowned. "We are aware of the dangers associated with it and I think everyone can agree, that no one wants to share the same fate as it."

"The fact is as such; _that_ universe made contact with our own, at least three times." Another Guardian continued. "The first time, was some point in the past of unknown length and duration. The entrance of Klarion the Witch-Boy who attempted to escape that universe. The second, when the being known as Cardsharp aka Tech-Priest first entered Gotham Museum along with Chaos acolyte Calig and his deceased followers. The third was the Warp tear which eventuated into a Chaos incursion on Roanoke Island which has been thoroughly cleansed and verified as such by the Star Coven and our own investigation."

"These are all serious events." A third Guardian commented. "Not least of which is that this universe has been affected, whether good or bad, it is too soon to be determined."

"If Doctor Fate's testimony is true, Cardsharp is the last known representation of that fallen universe." Ma'alefa'ak continued. "This…Tech-Priest or whatever he is represents a threat upon the Martian people."

"Oh please." Luthor laughed. "What could one man do?"

"One man thwarted you at every turn, Mister Luthor." Ma'alefa'ak smirked. "Your failures are known, even on Mars." Luthor's composure almost dropped, something wrathful flashed across his face, but it quickly vanished.

"Stick to the facts, gentleman." One of the Guardians interrupted, his face contorted into a frown ever since he was shown images of what was gleaned from mind of the one known as Tech-Priest. "No one can deny what was seen. Nor can we deny that a Chaos invasion from another universe attempted to enter our plane of reality. What matters is whether or not _that_ universe has affected our reality, and if so will it result in the destruction of the people of Mars."

"They have been arguing _forever_." Flash whispered. The League sat down listening to highly advanced beings determine the fate of the world. The Secretary-General nearly fainted, and several members of the UN Security Council looked sick.

"This is driving me nuts." Green Arrow fidgeted. "I need a freaking drink…."

"I don't know." Hal smiled lightly. "The Guardians are not unified. This is not going to be a slam dunk case for the Martians."

"Nor is it for us." Stewart crossed his arms.

"It's not over yet." Wonder Woman breathed.

" _This is the Batcave calling to anyone."_ A desperate voice crackled over their earpieces. _"Someone please respond."_

"Alfred?" Batman reached for his earpiece. "Alfred what is going on?"

" _Master Bruce, thank God."_ Alfred sobbed. _"Sir, someone's broken into the Batcave. He…Master Richard is hurt...I can't stop the bleeding…"_

"What?" Batman nearly shouted. "Alfred, what happened?"

" _He says he won't be rehabilitated."_ Alfred whispered.

Batman looked at the other Leaguers, a similar thought in their minds. _Tech-Priest._

"Is he there?" Batman seethed. "Put him on the line now."

" _O-okay…"_ He could hear Alfred's hurried breath be replaced with robotic humming. _Cardsharp…_

"I swear to you, Cardsharp." Batman growled. "If you lay even a finger on them, I will _**murder**_ you." If he bothered to look, he would have seen the horrified looks on the faces of his fellow heroes.

" _Save your threats Mister Wayne."_ The voice responded, cold and distant. _"Neither you, nor Mister Kent, Mister Allen, Miss Lance, Mister Queen or indeed any of you Leaguers will harm me."_

Batman's voice left his throat, just like the rest of the Justice League who listened in.

" _I take your silence as being interested."_ The Tech-Priest spoke first. _"The Batcave. You have two minutes. I suggest you move fast."_

The line went dead.

"Hello?" Batman felt his heart race. "Doctor Fate, can you take me to the Batcave?"

" _ **I can."**_ Fate responded. _**"I shall come with you."**_

"We'll stick around." Stewart jerked his thumb at Hal Jordan. "They are probably going to make a decision shortly."

Batman nodded, turning to Fate. "Do it." In a flash of light the League disappeared once more.

0o0o0o

Batman and the rest of the heroes who could attend appeared in the Batcave.

"Ahead of schedule. Good." Batman saw Cardsharp, he stood in front of the terminal, the terminal screens creating a ghostly silhouette of the Tech-Priest. Long cables emanated from his robes buried themselves into the computer. In his right hand the pained form of Alfred Pennyworth, and on his right shoulder, one of Cardsharp's shoulder mounted weapons pointed directly at the butler's head. "Where are Mister and Missus Hol, King Orin, or Master Baston?"

Batman completely ignored the question, focusing on the terminals which were blank except for two words.

UPLOAD COMPLETE

 _No..._ Batman dared to imagine. "What have you done?"

"You know what I have done Mister Wayne." Tech-Priest replied. "I have downloaded all information on your database and prepared it for final upload onto the internet. A single thought and all shall be revealed to this world."

"That doesn't sound so bad." Flash failed to see the sheer danger involved.

 _Oh no…_ Batman paled.

"They are unaware." Cardsharp blinked sensing even further advantage. "Mister Wayne has kept a detailed record of every person he has encountered. Including the secret identities of the Justice League."

"YOU WHAT?" Superman's head swiveled to the Dark Knight. "You kept everything on record?!"

"Not just names, but dates, addresses, known associates, familial connections." Cardsharp paused. "And known weaknesses and detailed plans to disable each Justice League member."

"Bruce is this true?!" Flash looked completely betrayed. "Why?!"

"You can discuss this among yourselves later. I think it is time we discussed the terms of your unconditional surrender." Cardsharp continued. "I want you to return me back to my own time."

Batman gazed around the cave and zeroed in on the medbay. Robin…Dick, he was bleeding…he was…

 _Poor pathetic boy, still crying for mommy and daddy. Can you just let it go?!_

Batman tried to reach him, but he heard the sound of Cardsharp's ballistic mechandrite charge. "Don't move."

"Do you know what you have done?!" Batman yelled. "The entire fate of the world is in jeopardy and here you are trying to play king of the hill?!"

Cardsharp ignored the Dark Knight's ramblings. "I have a sacred duty to protect the secrets of the Adeptus Mechanicus. I will not be disassembled for study."

"It was not meant-!" Batman's mind reeled. "Fate please help Robin." The good Doctor Fate moved with swiftness, bright holy light engulfing the injured boy.

"This joint venture is over." Tech-Priest tightened his grip around Alfred. "You will return me to my time."

"You want to go back?" Superman's mouth opened slightly. "We have seen where you come from Tech-Priest; why on earth would you want to go back?"

"It is where I belong." Cardsharp tilted his head. "How did you 'see' my time? The only one who glimpsed my thoughts were the Manhunter."

"What do you think is happening out there?" Flash pointed in no direction in particular. "When the Martians saw what was in your mind, they freaked. They have an armada in Earth orbit right now!"

"I am aware of the principles of temporal causality and temporal paradoxes." Cardsharp appeared indifferent. "Let them come. The war will galvanize our race, the Omnissiah will arrive and lead humanity to victory. And Mars will be returned to its true owners; the Adeptus Mechanicus. Your future is my past, all has been ordained."

"But this is not your past! And you are not our future!" Flash fired back. "You are not even from our universe. You were never supposed to be here!"

Cardsharp's head remained tilted, waiting for an explanation.

"Your time and ours are not linked." Wonder Woman explained. "You are from a completely other universe. You do not represent our future. You were summoned here by total accident, a crack in the multiverse. Nothing more."

"I don't believe that." The Tech-Priest shook his head, but something in his voice was doubtful.

"You know it too." Wonder Woman continued. "You have sensed something was off the moment you arrived here."

 _It was true,_ Cardsharp thought, _this place did not seem right. This Justice League was not supposed to exist in his time. It was inconceivable._

 _Regardless…_

"The power to send my back is still available." Cardsharp glanced at the magical Doctor Fate, who returned back to the League.

"Is he…?" Batman choked.

" _ **He lives."**_ Fate replied. _**"He will be fine, though the wounds that plague him will take time to heal."**_

Batman said nothing, but Cardsharp recognised a man who offered prayers to his god. Cardsharp made his demand again. "Doctor Fate, you will return me to my universe."

" _ **I will do no such thing."**_ Fate glared back defiantly.

"Can we send him home?" Wonder Woman asked.

" _ **Absolutely not."**_ Doctor Fate's voice betrayed the very ludicrousness of the suggestion. _**"We open up a doorway and whatever is over there, can come here. Look how much damage was done just by a mere breach from their dimension. I will never open that portal. Never."**_

"Then you condemn your life and your daughter, Mister Zatara." Cardsharp tested.

" _ **My host may be Zatara but you are speaking with Nabu, a Lord of Order and the true Doctor Fate!"**_ The golden helmed warrior snapped. _**"I will not be swayed by meager threats…and you would do well not to provoke me."**_

The Tech-Priest shivered under his gaze, his grip over Alfred loosened. The kindly butler slowly slinked out of the Tech-Priest's reach. Cardsharp barely noticed.

 _Dammit it all._ The Adept began to feel his plan unwind. _Everything is going to hell._

 _= Awaiting upload confirmation =_

Two beams of light entered the cave; it was Hal Jordan and John Stewart. Their grins betrayed much.

"They agreed!" Jordan pumped the air. "It's been determined. There is insufficient evidence to justify the destruction of Earth. The risk while present is too dubious to verify! The Martians have to return back home!"

The Flash actually collapsed in relief. Looks of joy over their faces, even Doctor Fate seemed less tense.

"All human Green Lanterns will have to rotate shifts out of the sector." Stewart's smile faded slightly but still present. "Considering this dispute, the Guardians thought it best our sector be patrolled by more unbiased members of the Corps, and they will be forbidden to have dealings with the Justice League. When we come back, it will be as private civilians only. "

"What of Tech-Priest?" Wonder Woman asked.

"He is grounded. He cannot be returned, and the Guardians will not tolerate his execution." Stewart nodded. "He must remain here on Earth at all costs. Mars is the sovereign property of the Martians."

"They said that Earth will be subject to regular monitoring. Official contacts must be established between Earth and Mars ASAP." Hal continued, adrenaline still in his veins. "But it's done. It's over, it's finally over!"

Huge sighs were finally interrupted by the mechanical breathing of a boy who had all of the Justice League's personal secrets on speed dial and with one thought could destroy them all.

"Face it Cardsharp." Wonder Woman reproached. "You are trapped here, and if releasing the information is the only thing that will make you see reason…then I guess there is nothing we can do to stop you."

Cardsharp's eyes narrowed, his mind searching through possibilities. None of them good. If he could not leave, if this truly was not the past. It he was truly a lost refugee from another universe…Then he was alone; an Adept of one. No Adeptus Mechanicus, no Holy Forge World of Mars, and no Machine God…

But a single thought echoed through his mind, an ancient quote of the Adeptus Mechanicus. One that Master Kyriz was fond of and spoke often. _An Adept of one, with a mechanical heart filled with faith, may unveil the secrets of the universe…and cower even the gods…_

 _It's not over,_ Cardsharp thought, faith still strong, _not yet. The Omnissiah's Will be done._

"Then it seems, Justice League." Cardsharp said slowly. "We still need each other."

 _0o0o0o_

" _I demand to know – OOF!"_ J'onn's request for information was denied with a swift kick in the chest.

" _Silence!"_ His captor seethed, and twisted the handcuffs to which the Manhunter was bound by. With his head covered, and an inhibitor collar to prevent telepathic contact and general shape and density shifting abilities, J'onn J'onzz was at their mercy.

J'onn remained silent and afraid as they dragged him to who knows where to do who knows what. After several twists in turns they stopped. _It seems this is it,_ J'onn thought with dread.

" _Get in!"_ His captor shoved him forward and the Manhunter landed with an unpleasant thud. But it was not a cold hard floor, or even spikes or nails. It was soft soil…familiar soil.

Someone reached for the handcuffs to which he was chained and they came off with a 'click-click'.

J'onn slowly reached for the hood, to reveal home.

His home on Mars.

The J'onzz ancestral home. Although it was considered a house on Mars, on Earth it would be considered more of a palace forged from black polished stone and red rock. Ironic considering that the J'onzz family is a rather small family in comparison to others.

The home was etched deep into the red soil of Mars; hundreds of rooms, dozens of kitchens, even more bathrooms, lounges, dining…everything. A completely self-sufficient world within Mars. All those bearing the blood of J'onzz are born here, and eventually die here, and their ashes may be buried next to their ancestors.

" _When was the last time you came here?"_ A familiar voice asked. _"Six months…ten?"_ J'onn angled his head and saw his brother sitting casually floating in the air.

" _A little over seven months."_ J'onn gingerly stood up, looking at the door to the J'onzz ancestral home. His captors stood outside looking righteously angry and frustrated, as if denied their prize. J'onn had a mind to demand they leave, but it was unwise. His captors were from the 'Red Dream'; the unofficial name of Martian Internal Security. They were not to be trifled with.

" _Well does it look like it has changed much?"_ Ma'alefa'ak glanced around the room.

" _I'm sure it has changed more for you then it has for me."_ J'onn sighed, knowing this meeting was probably more interesting for his brother who had not attended the J'onzz home for the latter part of a century. _"Why am I here?"_

" _Because your older brother still has some connections."_ Ma'alefa'ak returned J'onn's gaze coolly.

" _Uncle J'onn...?"_ The Manhunter turned to see his niece, or at least one of many. But this one was one of the few who had white skin.

" _Hello…_ _M'gann_." J'onn's smiled gingerly, partially because his mind was still suffering from the side-effects of the Tech-Priest's countermeasures, partially because he struggled to remember her. Martian families were rather big, even if the J'onzz family was on the smaller side.

 _M'gann_ M'orzz was the daughter of T'am'i, J'onn's third youngest sister. She wedded a white Martian from the northern sector, of which M'gann and her siblings were the result. M'gann's father, T'one'e M'orzz spent most of his time up north earning income as a shaper for the planet's ships. M'gann, her mother and her siblings chose to stay close to the ancestral home, where they could be with the family.

"Uncle J'onn!" She ran up to him and gave him a big hug. _Bless her heart,_ J'onn accepted the warm embrace, _M'gann was always a kind and gentle soul._

" _I'm really surprised you are here."_ She smiled. _"We did not expect you for another month."_

" _I know M'gann it has just been a slight change of plans."_ J'onn smiled uncomfortably.

" _I'm sorry but_ _My'ria'h, is not here right now. She had to head to the Enclaves for her daily ritual. She is going to be so happy you are back! Hey when are you going to head back to Earth, I was meaning to talk to you about…"_ M'gann's smile began to fade as she sensed something was wrong. _"Uncle J'onn…why do you have an Inhibitor Collar?"_

" _Oh there is a reason I assure you."_ The young white Martian seemed to wilt under Ma'alefa'ak's gaze. _"Hello, M'gann."_

" _H-hi….u-uncle M-ma'alefa'ak."_ She whispered, her form seemed to shrink away from him like he was hot lava.

" _Well aren't you going to give your eldest uncle a hug too?"_ The elder J'onzz smirked. Almost like a robot, she slowly and methodically approached the Marian general and wrapped her arms around him. Unlike J'onn, there was less warm and joy, and more fear in her embrace.

" _I…it's good to see you too uncle Ma'alefa'ak_." M'gann squeaked.

" _You don't have to lie on ceremony for me, niece. It is unbecoming of you."_ Ma'alefa'ak nodded in understanding, allowing her to distance herself away from him. _"I won't be staying long, just dropping off J'onn."_

J'onn interrupted the conversation, the white Martian looked like she wanted to be flee to the stars than stay there any longer. _"Why am I here Ma'alefa'ak?"_

" _My dear M'gann, would you give your uncles some privacy?"_ Ma'alefa'ak tried to force a smile, instead it came off as an unpleasant sneer. _"We have much to talk about."_

" _S-sure, bye uncle Ma'alefa'ak… bye uncle J'onn."_ M'gann left the room a little too quickly.

" _Hmm…nice girl, fears me something terrible."_ Ma'alefa'ak rubbed his chin in thought. _"Guess it comes with the territory of being in Special Operations."_

" _It comes with joining the military and then executing members of the White Martian Equality Party."_ J'onn seethed. _"Fear and being banished from the family home were inevitable."_

Ma'alefa'ak winced as he recalled the history over a century ago. _"It was a matter of internal security. The movement had to be put down."_

" _Put down? That's a funny word."_ J'onn rubbed his head. " _Is that what 'murder' is called these days?"_

" _Terrorism, riots and sedition are not something the Collective can afford."_ Ma'alefa'ak's eyes glowed red with anger. With the inhibitor collar on, J'onn would be unable to fight back.

" _Is that what you tell yourself?"_ J'onn's frame seemed crestfallen. _"Does it help you sleep?"_

" _You judge me, dear brother?"_ The brigadier-general loomed. _"I would be less worried about me and infinitely more worried about yourself."_

" _What are you talking about?"_

" _You communicated our impending attack to your Justice League."_ Ma'alefa'ak clicked his tongue. _"You talk about words, dear brother. Let me give you a word for what you did; it's called 'treason'."_

J'onn's green skin took a very sickly pale shade, like the colour of seaweed.

"' _High Treason' to be a little more precise."_ The Deputy-Director continued. _"Now what do we do to traitors?...Do you want me to go on?"_

" _If that is true,"_ J'onn's lips felt so dry, _"why am I here and not lying on the ground with my head blown off?"_

" _Because you are my brother…"_ Ma'alefa'ak shifted uncomfortably, _"and despite all that has happened, I still care for you and all of my family."_

J'onn blinked back his surprise. Never would have guessed his brother was the familial type. J'onn was heartbroken when Ma'alefa'ak was banished. But he always guessed it was because he was too ambitious for such things like 'family'. _"I am… surprised… and thankful brother. But this is wrong, I could not let you condemn another species based on fear and mere guesswork. We are better than that."_

" _How ungrateful."_ Ma'alefa'ak scoffed. _"In case you have not realised, this was about choosing sides. And you dear brother have chosen yours."_

" _We should be working with the humans. Not fighting them."_ J'onn pleaded. _"There is good in them, I have seen it."_

" _And I have seen the bad in them, thanks in no small part to what you gleaned."_ Ma'alefa'ak sighed. _"But it does not matter now. For you see; thanks to your interference the Green Lantern Corps has been summoned to investigate the circumstances of this incident. They want to negotiate a peace settlement. I for one am not comfortable with having to play to the whims of the Guardians from Oa, but we must obey… For now at least."_

J'onn closed his eyes in relief; help came. Perhaps this disaster could be averted after all. He regained his attention just as Ma'alefa'ak had one last longing look around the great J'onzz ancestral home before turning to leave. _"Where are you going?"_

" _I am heading back to the Collective."_ Ma'alefa'ak did not bother to turn around. _"Thanks to your little stunt, I have much work ahead of me."_

" _And me?"_ J'onn tugged on the Inhibitor Collar which released a painful sting of electricity.

" _You? Your part in this tale is over, J'onn."_ Ma'alefa'ak turned to face his younger brother. _"You are under permanent house arrest, in the J'onzz ancestral home, from now to the day you die. I would tender that there are far worse fates."_

" _You can't do this."_ J'onn's eyes widened in surprise.

" _It's already done. Consider it an opportunity to get reacquainted with the entire family. I will leave it to you to explain the situation you have found yourself in."_ Ma'alefa'ak bowed as the door closed. _"And please give my regards to_ _My'ria'h…and tell her I miss her K'Tesh worm pie."_

0o0o0o

Introduction Arc. Status: COMPLETE!

It's done, it's finally done!

Whew! What a rush.

It's been a trek together. I hope you all enjoyed it.

But the ride is not over yet.

I'm grateful to all those who stuck around. Hopefully you guys still enjoyed.

Review as always.

Bad Panda, out!


	11. Chapter 11

Hey Guys, new chapter; new arc.

We are still not in the Young Justice timeline. Everything started on 4 July 2010. Our Tech-Priest arrived on 9 November 2009.

This means we have six or so months to blaze through before we get to the series we all know and love. Season 3 is coming out, so there is that.

So I think it important to go through the six to seven month gap that occurred between Roanoke and Independence Day, and the effects of Roanoke Island have changed the world and the members of the Justice League.

So here is the beginning of that new arc.

I call it 'The New Children of the Adeptus Mechanicus'.

Hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 11

The Justice League and the Tech-Priest stayed in the dark cave under Wayne Manor till the crack of dawn and the early hours of morning.

The young Adept wanted to hash out an agreement, and not a handshake or verbal agreement either; he wanted a treaty and he wanted it in writing.

If it were another fifteen year old boy, they probably would have laughed. But Cardsharp was no ordinary boy, and the Justice League have experienced the consequences of underestimating him.

Red Tornado was gone; and based on Batman's detailed records, there was no evidence of a backup. It seems the robot's death was quite permanent.

The world had already begun to rename Roanoke Island as 'Roanoke Crater'.

The original Doctor Fate, Kent Nelson has passed away. Succumbing to a combination of age and stress.

Selina Kyle's life ended at the hands of the Dark Knight himself. Something which weighed heavily on Wayne's heart despite many saying it was the right thing to do.

Now the Justice League's personal secrets along with whatever data Batman has collected over the years was in the Tech-Priest's control. One thought and it was over for them.

But it was more than that; the Tech-Priest hid the data in little servers in the darkest and most remote corners of the Internet. The information was encrypted with systems never encountered and set to a timer. If Cardsharp was killed, or failed to provide a renewal code every 24 hours, the data would be released automatically.

The Justice League had little choice in the matter.

It was a very simple treaty, regardless it still had teeth.

The Justice League and its agents will not affect, influence or otherwise interfere in the internal structure of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

The Justice League and its agents will not detain, arrest or otherwise interfere with the belief system known as the Cult Mechanicus or its members.

The Justice League will not seize nor attempt to seize, nor otherwise acquire nor assist others in acquiring, information or secrets held by the Adeptus Mechanicus.

The Justice League may on occasion, and at the request and consent of the Tech-Priest, provide support to the Adeptus Mechanicus and operate within Adeptus Mechanicus jurisdiction.

The Adeptus Mechanicus will have sole and absolute jurisdiction with regard to all matters associated with Chaos. The Justice League will be obligated to obey all Adeptus Mechanicus directives for all future matters relating to Chaos, the Warp or a combination thereof.

In exchange, the Tech-Priest will on occasion, _and only when convenient_ , provide support as a consultant at the Justice League's request and maintain any confidential information that may have been 'provided' by the Justice League to the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Further to this, the Tech-Priest will enforce rule of law and conduct 'hero work' in Adeptus Mechanicus jurisdiction, a deputy of the Justice League if you will.

The Adeptus Mechanicus will abide by all conditions emphasised in the Justice League – United Nations Charter. In particular the Tech-Priest will not kill nor otherwise be complicit in murder or death of another human being. There seemed to be a glaring exception with regard to any future Chaos incursions, the Justice League attempted to force an argument, but after what they saw on Roanoke Island, they had to relent.

In short, if the Justice League left Cardsharp alone to his own devices, the Tech-Priest will not release their secrets, abide by their laws, and agree to help out on occasion. It was only many months down the track would the members of the Justice League begin to view Cardsharp's willingness to abide by their code of no killing as suspicious. It never occurred to them that the technical wording of the Justice League's requirement left _much_ room to manoeuvre.

It was signed by Wonder Woman also known as Princess Diana of Themyscira, Daughter of Hippolyta, with a flowery signature from a pen.

It was counter-signed by Tech-Priest, also known as Senior Acting Tech-Priest Cardsharp of the Holy Forge World of Mars, Apprentice to Master Rune-Priest Kyriz, with a barcode generated by a mechanical digit.

Underneath his 'signature' was a symbol: a human skull in the centre of a cogwheel; the official seal of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Thus the Treaty of the Bat Cave was created.

The formality settled there was only the question of jurisdiction.

Naturally, the Justice League wanted Cardsharp close, somewhere they could keep an eye on him.

But the Tech-Priest had other ideas, it conducted a search on the Internet, looking for the perfect home.

And thus a venue was chosen.

0o0o0o

The Roanoke Incident was what it was called.

The Chaos Incursion, the Martain Fleet, the Guardian's Trial, the crashing of the Watchtower, all of it fell under the simple heading.

But it was a heading known to few, the arrival known as Tech-Priest, the revelation of the Martian Fleet, a bridge to a dimension where war was the sole purpose of existing, the Trial of the Guardians…All of that was deemed classified 'Top Secret' by the United Nations Security Council available to only a select few people in the world.

And to Lex Luthor.

"Thank you Secretary-General." Luthor leant back in his chair as he spoke with the leader of the United Nations over the phone. "It was a privilege to help out….of course…of course…Look all we had to do was state our case and the matter was solved. I hardly had to do anything…I appreciate the support….Thank you sir…try and get some rest….Yes, I will too."

Luthor hung up the phone and gazed at the ceiling. "Well last night is one for the history books."

It was like something out of a really crazy science-fiction film.

His eyes were weary with sleep, and wanted nothing more than to write off the day and go back to bed. But unfortunately he had to make a call.

Luthor reached for his computer and dialled in the security code. After several seconds of waiting six separate screens appeared, the individuals identities obscured by bright white light.

" _We're here."_ L-1 started.

"Is this line secure?" Luthor asked.

" _Of course."_ L-1 replied matter of factly.

"Things took a turn." Luthor spoke into the terminal. "But everything is okay. The Justice League appears to be suffering serious backlash from the disaster at Roanoke."

" _What I am more concerned about is how quickly things have derailed."_ L-2 seemed rather concerned. _"Earth seems to have been thrown into the spotlight sooner than we anticipated, and we have attracted far too much attention from parties too close to us."_

"The Martians are worried." Luthor explained. "They seem convinced that we want Mars. But under Green Lantern supervision a diplomatic agreement is to be hashed out."

" _I doubt that will hold them at bay for long."_ L-2 remained unconvinced.

" _I agree."_ L-1 continued. _"Things have taken a turn for the worst and we are unprepared. You should have warned us about this Klarion."_

" _Oh don't even start with me Vandal!"_ The member known as L-7 shouted. _"Or should I call you Victor Adger?! I told you keeping those relics were a bad idea! I told you to destroy them!"_

" _You did not tell me those relics were portals to another universe."_ L-1 rebutted. _"Further to this, you probably should have mentioned that you are not from this universe."_

" _We all have secrets Savage."_ L-7 growled. _"How about this? I will tell you everything about me, if you tell us all about your_ _ **'Scandals'**_ _."_

If there was hidden meaning in those words, the only one who picked up on it was L-1 who went abnormally quiet. When he did speak, it was both calm yet resigned. _"Your point is conceded."_

"There is no such thing as complete trust." Luthor accepted. "This group has always been one of convenience."

" _This bickering is pointless."_ L-2 interrupted. " _What interests me is this new arrival, Tech-Priest. Klarion, can you shed any light?"_

" _About him specifically? No."_ L-7 spoke as if he was gritting his teeth. _"But Tech-Priests are the job title associated with someone who is part of the Adeptus Mechanicus, a sub-organisation of the Imperium of Man. They are responsible for maintaining and building all of the Imperium's advanced technology."_

" _Excuse-moi."_ L-6 soothed, clearly interested. _"Advanced technology, you say?"_

" _Yeah."_ L-7 sighed. _"Don't get your hopes up though, they are a bunch of religious cyborg whack-jobs who have lost more technology than you'll ever know….No offence."_

" _How is that possible?"_ L-6 asked.

" _Remind me to tell you about the Men of Iron sometime and a little diddy called the 'Horus Heresy'."_ L-7 shooed the issue away. _"All you need to know is that Tech-Priests treat technology and science the same way you would religion and they absolutely without a shadow a doubt_ _ **hate**_ _A.I."_

"Yes." Luthor thumbed is chin. "Red Tornado's death. While you said that this Tech-Priest brought down the Watchtower, the Justice League is claiming that the android sacrificed itself to save them."

" _They are lying their asses off!"_ L-7 hyperventilated.

" _Let them have their fantasy."_ L-1 concluded. _"The Light will reveal everything in due course. Still this Tech-Priest has potential, whether it be as an ally, a source of information, or a source of technology. Where is the Tech-Priest now?"_

" _Beats me."_ L-7 shrugged. _"I took off quick smart after it was all over."_

" _I see."_ L-1 sounded disappointed. _"I want everyone to keep your sources open. If this Tech-Priest was not destroyed in Roanoke, he is bound to appear again."_

"If we do find this Tech-Priest, what is the next step?" Luthor clarified, "Do we make contact? Or do we acquire him for research or just dispose of him?"

" _No! You can't kill him!"_ L-6 interrupted. _"I have so many questions to ask him!_ _Cela pourrait être un_ _e opportunité dans toute la vie!"_

" _Do not let personal interest take precedence over the Light's goals."_ L-1 decreed. _"In answer to your question, let us make contact. But if he does not agree, dispose of him."_

0o0o0o

The Global Financial Crisis of 2008 was one of the worst economic disasters in Earth history. Many suffered at its hands.

People lost jobs.

Families lost homes.

Cities died.

States went bankrupt.

Countries suffered.

The city of Detroit was not dead yet, but it was on its last legs.

The State of Michigan was solvent, but that was not sustainable.

Detroit was a majestic city, the heart of the automotive industry of the United States of America. But looking at her now, you would hardly recognise the glamour. Many companies made uncountable machines of unending uses in the hay day. Now it was a ghost town.

It was in mid-November 2009 when Cardsharp was dropped off in the defunct industrial sector of Dearborn via the aptly named 'Bat Plane'. All he had with him was his Omnissian Power Axe, his trusted Servo-skulls, his still broken eradication ray and his faith. There were hundreds of factories in Detroit, most of them were abandonded; from the General Motors Assembly Plant in Pontiac to the Volkswagen Assembly in Sterling Heights. All were vacant, all were abandoned...all were ripe for the taking.

Tech-Priest set up shop in a production warehouse/factory along the Rouge River that belonged to a manufacturing company known as 'Ford'. It was initially meant to build motor vehicles, but Tech-Priest knew it could easily be retooled for anything. It was close to Interstate 94 yet secluded, it was compact yet open spaced. It was a perfect strategic point.

After checking records, the company's liquidation was a fiasco. Thousands of people were redundant, corporate executives were living a decadent retirement and the banks were left holding the debt. What was left of it was absorbed by Wayne warehouses and the machine spirits left behind were effectively forgotten, lost in the bureaucratic nightmare.

Cardsharp looked around the empty factory, with blown in doors, broken windows, graffitied walls and dusty floors.

It was perfect.

The Tech-Priest felt he should say something, and his mind turned to a passage from the Holy Bible, one of the many things he downloaded from his brief contact with this Earth's Internet.

The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16, Verse 18 seemed fitting enough.

"Upon this rock I will build my church," Cardsharp whispered, "and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

0o0o0o

Fun fact, Tech-Priests do in fact sleep. Most of them sleep in a 'standing' position held upright by in a recharge bay, though some have been known to sleep in a bed like most of the 'fleshies'.

Senior Acting Tech-Priest Cardsharp has been having significant trouble sleeping. It was nothing new to the Adept, sleep was frequently lost upon him after Kyriz's death.

The Subsector Marxian Campaign was an experience, even for the most veteran soldier. Cannons firing, bombs exploding, lasguns blasting, men screaming, daemons laughing…it was horrible thing to witness.

So Cardsharp found on this quiet Terra, in the absence of all those terrifying sounds, it was next to impossible to sleep.

The silence…the eerie, deafening mind-numbing silence…

Cardsharp had difficultly resting, and when he did, it was only to dream horrible things from Subsector Marxian and more recently Roanoke Crater.

So he kept himself busy with work, resting only when he had no choice.

His very first project; reinforcements. Tech-Priest created help out of the old automotive vehicles and other machines that were abandoned. They were disassembled and rebuilt as a worthy creation of the Machine God.

Before he was baptised as a Tech-Priest and assigned Master Kyriz, Cardsharp recalled making several hundred robots in the Mondus Gamma Forge Temple of Mars. Even without the STC available, he could easily recall the process of making them.

The Omicron Upsilon-09 – Labour Droid was a standard labour robot used all across the galaxy.

A three meter tall basic automaton with four insect-like legs, a single large red eye, two large heavy duty arms capable of lifting 300 kilograms and two small mechandrites capable of fine motor skills. Special runes and blessed parchment graced the legs and chest of the metal behemoth granting it strength and power.

It looked like a large spider walking upright and dressed as a mummy.

It took one car, one 'computer' and two industrial motor arms to make one. Thankfully there was an overabundance of those materials and no one was interested in monitoring them.

In less than a week the Tech-Priest had fourteen Labour Droids up and running.

0o0o0o

For the first time in a very long time, Cardsharp felt content. The factory in Detroit was advancing ahead of schedule. The linked Labour Droid servants he created quadrupled his efficiency allowing him to facilitate greater construction.

Now this gutted factory was fast looking like the Manufactorums he had encountered, not as great as the great metal behemoths of Holy Mars, but it was beginning to feel…homely.

The Tech-Priest already managed to restore basic power, and the assembly lines were running. Now they just had to be put to work. But such an activation would result at an excessive and unnecessary cost to his host nation; in violation of the Justice League Charter. Besides, the infrastructure was incapable of supporting Cardsharp's inevitable projects. So he needed to generate his own power. He needed a FWPN (also known as a Forge World Power Network), the word used in modern day earth would be a fusion reactor. A proper FWPN can power an entire world, but Cardsharp only needed one to power his small little bastion. It would be a walk in the park.

But that did not mean it would be cheap. Such an endeavour, even on a tiny scale would be an expensive enterprise…if you did it the legal and bureaucratic way. However, there were certain methods around such technicalities. A few well placed orders and infiltration of several corporate systems, Cardsharp managed to locate the parts for a rudimentary FWPN.

Again technically in violation of Justice League Charter, but those corporations were linked to Wayne Enterprises… and Bruce Wayne would be reluctant to cause problems unless he wanted the whole world to know of his night-time activities. Besides the corporation and its subsidiaries were too busy and wealthy to notice the disappearance of a few thousand parts, especially if you manipulate the stock to indicate that no such parts existed in the first place.

The parts arrived sporadically in various locations in Detroit over a course of two weeks.

Twelve hours later, a water-distillation facility was constructed.

In twenty-two hours a radio-frequency heater (basically just a very large microwave oven) was up and running.

Two days later a rudimentary electo-accelerator (also known as a particle accelerator/collider) was built.

Four days later, sixteen small fusors were created.

Three weeks later, the final panel to the hydro-fusion reactor was ionised on.

A further week was required before he turned it on, praying to the Machine Spirits may be tedious but were worthwhile and highly beneficial in the long run. The Tech-Priest was giving life to new creations of the Machine God, he had to be precise and careful so as not to offend the Omnissiah.

He ran through every ceremony taught to him by Rune-Priest Kyriz. Every rune was scribed meticulously and every liturgy was chanted perfectly. The rituals of initiation for new machinery had to be followed strictly with the Cult Mechanicus.

 _Remember what Master Kyriz said_ , Cardsharp sweated, _to break with ritual is to break with faith._

A Rune-Priest is trained in the arcane branches of scientific lore such as intuitive mechanics, speculation, and improvisation and are famous for their lateral thinking. It was not uncommon for a Rune-Priest to be called in to solve problems when strict logic and standard procedure fail.

Building a Manufactorum from the ground up was a Rune-Priest's speciality.

By the end of it, every square inch of the facility was blessed with Holy Oil and prayed too.

 _++ With thy Spirits sated and blessed by thy lord and creator, the Machine God, ++_ Cardsharp reached for the control panel, _++ I give thee the spark of motion and life. May these humble and measly efforts to appease thine Machine Spirit be satisfactory; for thou art Holy and Mighty. In the name of the Omnissiah ++_

The Tech-Priest, dialled a few buttons and fed the reactor with the energy to hopefully jumpstart the reaction.

 _The soul of the Machine God surrounds thee.  
The power of the Machine God invests thee.  
The hate of the Machine God drives thee.  
The Machine God endows thee with life.  
Live!_

There was nothing.

Nothing….nothing…still nothing…

 _Nothing…._ Cardsharp sighed slightly dejected. _++ Forgive me Machine Spirts, for my work is unbecoming of your grace and glory. Take pity on my failure and grant me another chance to prove myself worthy of your service ++_

 _Master Kyriz would know what to do._ Cardsharp looked through the structural blueprints wondering where he went wrong. _Perhaps the Machine Spirit is displeased with the relay node 421-6A, its copper composition is insufficient to the rest of-_

Then _everything_.

The Tech-Priest nearly jumped, which considering his bulk, was a feat in itself.

The reactor hummed to life with sound of crackling electricity. Lights flicked on as if by the Omnissiah Himself, machines and factory components jolted into action. The entire Manufactorum came to life.

Gone was the Ford River Rouge Complex.

It was reborn as the Manufacotrum _Filus Detroitus._

 _++ Glory to the Omnissiah ++_ Cardsharp bowed to his latest creation; the heart of Manufactorum. _++ Thank you, Machine Spirits for thine mercy and favour ++_

The Tech-Priest ensured a linkage back to the Detroit electrical network, ensuring a surplus of power to bridge the shortfall caused by his creations. It was the least he could do for the city of Detroit. For now at least.

Now the real work can begin.

0o0o0o

It was mid-December 2009 when winter began to roll into Michigan.

The Tech-Priest had never experienced snow, much less the cold before. So seeing an entire city covered in white was a new experience.

It was also a new experience to see the homeless.

Tech-Priest was not naïve, he knew homeless people existed where he came from. He just never saw it on the Holy Forge World of Mars. The Cult Mechanicus always insured every person had a place, otherwise it was a waste of resources.

But there are many hive worlds in the galaxy, and there were many wars being fought. But it was the first time the Tech-Priest saw it with his own optics. In the Subsector Marxian Campaign there were no civilians, there were only loyal Imperial Guard, and the dead. _But seeing it here, on Terra itself…Surely such a horrid thing must not exist on the shining jewel of humanity, regardless of what universe you are in?_

The Tech-Priest then recalled there is a Wayne Enterprises owned subsidiary, one specialising in hospital equipment including beds.

 _Surely a few hundred will not be missed,_ Cardsharp thought.

0o0o0o

 _Christ it's cold._ Thomas Dobbs shivered in the alleyway, his overcoat acting little more than window dressing. Although as dressed as a homeless man can be it is never enough. As he sat in his alleyway next to an old shopping cart and huddled under old blankets, linen and whatever he could use Dobbs rubbed his hands into his chest trying to keep warm. Winter is always the worst time to be outdoors, especially at night. Surviving the Christmas season is a challenge to say the least.

Granted there used to be soup kitchens, churches, even kindly folks who will let you spend a night or two. But that is over now, thanks to the GFC, funding for soup kitchens has stopped, churches are closing and people are moving. That normally left room for squatting in houses, but as there is no electricity there is little heat, and the abandoned houses were falling apart around them due to lack of care. On top of that, living on the street is a selfish game, you got to look out for number one. That meant fights; and Thomas Dobbs was no longer in his prime.

So on top of living on the street in winter, you can add old and hungry as a well.

It's a rough life, but it was nothing new. Dobbs has been on the street going thirteen years; made it back then, he can make it now…hopefully. But age is cruel, and each winter gets steadily harder each year. One of Dobbs' friends, an elderly man called 'Jamie' died of exposure last winter…perhaps this winter is the one where he finally bites it.

Until his thoughts were interrupted by a slow mechanical breathing, like the ticking of a clock. Dobbs looked up at the source.

"SWEET JESUS!" Dobbs sputtered.

"No. I am Tech-Priest." Its voice was mechanical and monotone. The monstrous thing stood in the dark, a single gleaming red eye in the shadows, and the outline of many limbs surrounding him.

"WHATEVER YOU ARE, TAKE WHAT YOU WANT JUST DON'T HURT ME!" Dobbs placed his hands up in surrender. He silently cursed, what little he had was to help him survive, if it was taken now he would surely perish before the new year, much less before spring.

"Relax." The figure slowly approached. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"THEN WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" Dobbs yelled, his body still running on the adrenaline.

"I am trying to help." The figure drew closer draped in a large red robe that obscured most of its bulky and inhuman form.

"W-what?" Dobbs blinked, his breathing slowing. "Help?" It pulled something out of its robes and placed it in front of Dobbs to see. It was a metal badge with the letters 'JL' with a star in the centre. It was a Justice League badge. "Are you Justice League?"

" _No."_ The figure responded, perhaps a little too forcefully. "Merely an affiliate."

"A Justice League affiliate in Detroit…huh." Dobbs really did not know what else to say. The only time Justice League ever came to Michigan is when they are travelling over it or through it.

"Why are you on the streets? Why do you not seek shelter?" The figure spoke. "You will freeze to death if you stay out here."

Dobbs rolled his eyes. "Don't you know anything man? Houses are falling apart, charities are closing. There is no shelter to seek."

"I see." The figure went quiet. "Perhaps the Adeptus Mechanicus can assist."

"The Adept-what-now?"

"My organisation." The figure replied. "You are welcome to stay the night. You can stay throughout all of winter if you wish."

Dobbs has seen and heard many things, being on the street will do that. He also knows when something sounds too good to be true. "What do you want for it?"

"Nothing. Call it community service." The figure called Tech-Priest began to shuffle his bulk away, so much so Dobbs wondered how he did not hear him coming in first place.

"Yeah right pal. Nothing in this world is for free." Dobbs called after him. "How do I know you are not some creepy serial killer hoping to turn me into a lampshade?"

"I can assure you I am not a creepy serial killer hoping to turn you into a lampshade." The Tech-Priest sighed, its metal limbs spawning out of it back glided against the floor swiping snow out of the way. "My facility is located in Dearborn in what you would have called the River Rouge Complex. All are welcome. The choice is up to you."

Dobbs watched at the large red-robed thing shuffled its way out of the alley and around the corner.

"Pfft….as if." Dobbs chuffed. Almost an hour passed before the quiet cold of the night began to creep back in to his chest, and the snow fluttered through the sky. As the adrenaline left his body, he felt it more than ever. The Tech-Priest, or whatever he was, was right freezing to death was a very real possibility.

"Ah screw it." Dobbs reached for the trolley and began to pack, if he was going to die he might as well die warm.

0o0o0o

Dearborn was a trek in the snow. It took almost seven hours to get there, and the cold had permeated to the bone, but at least walking kept the blood flowing.

As he approached Dearborn, specifically the old abandoned factory he saw a few familiar faces. Some he has not seen in months, others in years. "Clark, Spit, what you doing out?"

"Same as you I guess. Heading to the factory at Dearborn?" Clark waved.

"Really the weird guy called you too huh?"

"Guy my ass!" Spit spat on the ground (hence the name). "We were both accosted by a floating skull! A friggin, floating skull!"

"Bullshit." Dobbs scoffed. "Have you been on the sauce again?"

"Nah he ain't kidding man." Clark thumbed his jacked. "I saw it myself. A floating skull hovering in the air asking us why we don't seek shelter. It then told us to head to the abandoned factory."

"That explains Johns and…holy balls is that Jonas?" Dobbs pointed over to two other people in the distance, both huddled in coats and driving their own shopping trolleys.

"Yeah." Clark smirked. "You should have heard Annie's; she saw a friggin metal spider. Nearly gave her a heart attack. Shit, it nearly gave me a heart attack from listening to it."

Dobbs frowned. _What the hell is going on?_

"Hear it was some new Justice League member." Spit drizzled as he spoke. "Ever since that Roanoke disaster there is talk of damage control and new membership."

"Nah, this guy said he was not Justice League." Dobbs recalled the strange red-robed…thing.

"Well whatever he is, he sounds like a total…Woah." Clark trailed off.

Dearborn was always quiet at night, even more so once most of the factories closed down. So seeing one large metal structure in the void with both lights on and machines running was definitely out of the ordinary.

Dobbs, Clark and Spit kept moving, getting closer and closer, until they went around to the main entrance.

And what they saw was gentle light.

What they felt was _warmth._

 _Holy, sweet Jesus and Hallelujah!_ Dobbs smiled. "It seems Christmas came early."

An entire factory floor was cleared of all things mechanical. In their place was rows of beds, lined up perfectly one after the other. On the far right there were a series of bathrooms and showers. Up the back was a bench filled with prepacked food and meals. And microwaves to boot!

On the factory ceiling there were heat lamps joined together in a number that rivalled if not exceeding the beds. Up close it would have felt like the sun, but on the ground it was like a warm summer breeze.

People were already moving in, several dozen so far and Dobbs was sure there were more on the way. Something like this will not stay secret on the street for long. The sounds of conversation and laughter echoed around the metal building.

One by one they came in, their eyes wide with disbelief. The more seasoned survivors kept their eyes peeled for potential exits, waiting for the illusion to drop.

A woman with ruffled dark hair walked out to greet them. "Hey fellas what you doing?"

"Annie, there you are." Clark waved back. "Wow, this place is nuts."

"Yeah tell me about it, ever since that….spider thing," Annie shivered, "I had to see it for myself, convince myself I wasn't crazy y'know?"

"I get ya." Clark gazed up embracing the warmth.

"Where's the guy who runs this?" Dobbs looked around. "This Tech-Priest or whatever?"

"Right here." A familiar monotone voice replied. They spun around and Dobbs recognised the familiar form of the red-robed…thing. Flanking either side of it were two floating skulls; one had several metal instruments dangling below it, and the other one had a friggin Gatling gun for a mouth. Everyone's voice died mid-conversation. The hum of the lights above being the only source of noise.

"Hey man," Clark nodded, "thanks for letting us use this, place…uh sorry I didn't get your name."

"I am Tech-Priest." The figure's face was enshrouded by the red hood, a single red eye in the dark. "This facility and all the surrounding areas are property of the Adeptus Mechanicus. You are currently in Shell D of the Manufactorm _Filus Detroitus_."

 _That was a mouthful,_ Dobbs thought, _I doubt I could pronounce half of what he said._

"Well I'm sure Tech-Priest, I speak for everyone when we say thank you." Clark wiped his eyes. "It's been a long time since we have had such kindness, even if it is a short while."

"You are welcome. But it does not have to be a short while." The Tech-Priest shifted its bulk slightly, metal snake like appendages slithered across the ground. "You are welcome to stay all winter and beyond should you wish."

"And what if we choose not to?" Someone called out, likely one of the more suspicious veterans. The Tech-Priest made no indication he heard him save for a slight shift in its hood form.

"The door is always open. You are welcome to leave anytime." The Tech-Priest continued. "I only have three rules."

Several murmurs echoed around the factory; what they always feared…nothing is for free. Dobbs almost let himself feel hope.

"First, while you live or take advantage of this Manufactorum's facilities you will not conduct any illegal activity including the taking of narcotics. Whatever you previously had to do on the street to survive I will overlook. But that part of your life is over now. You are free to live without fear of hunger or exposure." Tech-Priest's red eye shone brightly. "Second, you will not cause any trouble whatsoever nor will you interfere with my work or the work of the Adeptus Mechanicus. I expect civility in this Manufactorum and from those who inhabit it."

The arrivals, the homeless and the outcast with no place to go seemed to churn in relief. Everything he said was not only managable but much desired. Practically everyone on the street did not want trouble.

"Thirdly and finally," the Tech-Priest continued, "there are several factories around you. They are Adeptus Mechanicus property and are completely off limits. You will not approach, let alone enter them under _any_ circumstances. I do not care if a war breaks out or the apocalypse has arrived. **You. Do. Not. Enter. My. Facilities.** If you wish to communicate with me, you may use one of the relay points," the Tech-Priest gestured to a panel on the factory wall which looked like a closed-circuit radio, "or you can seek the attention of one of the servo-skulls or automata that you will find throughout the Manufactorum." The robed entity gestured to one of the floating skulls and then to the rather large and lumbering metal creature with eight limbs that just appeared out of the dark.

 _Walking spiders indeed…._ Dobbs voice caught in his throat.

Not a sound was made except for perhaps Annie who merely whispered "Fffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk….."

"Anyone who is caught violating these three rules will be _dealt with severely_." The Tech-Priest's voice dipped with growling harshness as if to emphasise some horrible point. "Any questions?"

… _that's it?_ Dobbs blinked. _No crime, no trouble and stay out of his business. That's the deal of a lifetime._

A wave of relief washed over the arrivals. Shelter in exchange for good behaviour and being left alone...there were no complaints to be found.

"Umm…" Dobbs risked a chance. "I do have one question." He could feel the heat of the looks of his fellow street survivors glaring at him.

"Which is?" The Tech-Priest prodded, its voice returning back to its normal monotone.

"There's a lot of beds and we are grateful." Dobbs continued. "But I know for a fact that there are more homeless people than the beds provided. What happens when more people inevitably show up?"

Tech-Priest shrugged indifferently, clearly he was expecting another question. Dobbs' query was legitimate and quite simple. "More room will be provided in due course. Additional areas of the Manufactorum can be easily converted into liveable areas. Until then rule three applies; do not approach any other part of the Manufactorum apart from this structure, Shell D. Any other questions?"

The silence said it all, that and lots of nodding heads.

"Welcome to the Manufactorum _Filus Deroitus_." The Tech-Priest turned and shuffled out of the factory into the cold.

0o0o0o

Sorry if I got Detroit completely wrong. I have only visited the city once and it was very brief. Hopefully it does not offend.

In this version, I see major automotive companies like Ford and General Motors and indeed most other businesses being butchered during the GFC and most of them being absorbed into the major conglomerates like LexCorp, Wayne Enterprises Inc, Ultimate Computer Corporation, and Queen Industries.

Hopefully see you soon.


	12. Chapter 12

Hey guys, new chapter.

Holy sweet Omnissiah we breached the 300 review mark! Awesome!

Thank you very much for your kind words and reviews and your feedback.

I am glad you like the story. I will try and keep the momentum going as long as I can.

Here is another chapter, I find it a bit of doozy so I hope you like it.

Also for the record, while I love the Adeptus Mechanicus and Warhammer 40K in general I am not an expert. Consequently, I have and will take certain liberties with what may be considered 'canon'. They will not be major out of control things, but minor matters.

We are currently approaching the end of December 2009, Christmas in closing in.

Also, the diddy near the end is the 'Joker Song' from Miracle of Sound. Thanks ABuzzman for the reminder.

And here…we…go.

Chapter 12

The Tech-Priest was afraid he may have absorbed more responsibilities than he was prepared for.

The winter that hit the state of Michigan was unrelenting.

But that did nothing to stall the tide of people with nowhere else to go from rolling into Manufactorum _Filus Detroitus_. When sanctuary was first offered, there were 183 souls who accepted. A mere week had passed by and that number was 957 and steadily climbing. Based on his calculations, Cardsharp concluded that those numbers will reach one thousand before the dawn of the new year.

Shell D was becoming cramped, so much so that Cardsharp instructed the beds to be welded together as double bunks to save on space. But it still was not enough. Shell F, which was to be converted into an automata construction bay had to be hastily and unpleasantly reconstructed into a shelter of similar layout to Shell D.

Snow and ice were causing delays in deliveries of food supplies and equipment. It was going to be apparent to the Wayne Enterprise subsidiary that something was off, especially when employees were delivering orders that did not exist. Many businesses were closing their doors to ride out the season, so that ruled out local substitutes.

The Tech-Priest crunched the logistics and while tightening rations will curtain the downward spiral, sooner or later the food will run out.

However, the numbers were only half the problem; the other half stemmed from the other survivors of the street. Most of them were poor men, women and even children who had lost their homes, fallen on hard times or just had plain bad luck; they were not issue.

The issue was others; those whom the streets had left as lasting impression on; those sick of mind and those too lost not to recognise the opportunity they were being given. They were causing problems; theft, violence, drugs. The insane and those who fled reality using narcotics were starting to arrive on Cardsharp's doorstep seeking a warm place to stay. They were violating the first two rules of Manufactorum _Filus Detroitus_ merely by being there. They were violent, inebriated, confused, and scared. They left messes and were not behaving. They were beginning to make the ones just trying to survive nervous.

Half of Shell E, which was to be used as a lasgun manufacturing centre had to be modified to contain and segregate them from the others. They were always carefully monitored by either KA63, KA64 or one of the spare labour droids.

It was not that the Tech-Priest did not have the stomach (or the bionic equivalent) to deal with them; he very much did. Cardsharp knew _exactly_ what to do with them; half the reason he started this little 'charity' was to find people like them. The problem was that he did not have the resources to deal with them as any adept of the Cult Mechanicus would.

Not yet at least.

Which led to the final and worst problem of all; the construction associated with automata was expensive in terms of materials. Construction of rudimentary labour droids (which were now thirty in number) was acceptable, but an Adeptus Mechanicus facility is nothing without security.

So whether it be out of necessity to have failsafe should the Tech-Priest face a riot or merely to have more comforting forms of the mechanical, Cardsharp built a pair of Scyllax Guardian Automata. These grand serpentine machines mostly used as bodyguards for Magos, 'stood' upright with various unpleasant and sharp looking mechandrites sticking out of its beetle like shell ready to shred anything in their path. They patrolled Shell A, Cardsharp's private facility. They were a sufficient deterrent, even for the more difficult 'guests' of the Manufactorum.

The requisite materials to make these noble machine spirits were not immediately available so the Tech-Priest had to improvise; a big no-no in the Cult Mechanicus. But as a Rune Priest in training, Cardsharp made due. However the cost to their construction robbed the Tech-Priest with most of the raw material lying around the Manufactorum. So now the Manufactorum had no metal to work with and thus all work and all future projects ground to a halt.

It appeared that winter, the Tech-Priest was stuck.

0o0o0o

It was late-December 2009 and the world was still reeling from the disaster at Roanoke Crater.

Opinion was mixed, some applauded the Justice League for their fast thinking, and others condemned them at their reckless destruction even if they ensured no civilians were killed. The Justice League UN Reporting Committee was frothing at the mouth; demonic invasion, alternate universe travel, and an orbiting satellite will do that.

Many of the Justice League have been on their feet for several days at a time.

Many but not all however; the Roanoke disaster cut the Justice League's strength effectively in half.

Red Tornado's destruction weighed heavily on many of the League. The android was one of the oldest heroes, his service commencing in the Justice Society of America with the late Kent Nelson. The robotic League member was experienced and a true friend. Thanks to Batman's lie he was hailed as a saviour or the perpetrator of the largest explosion on planet Earth.

John Stewart and Hal Jordan departed almost immediately after the Guardians of Oa delivered their verdict. They said their good-byes, saddened but not deterred, they were reassigned to Sector 1138 along with the third Green Lantern Guy Gardiner. They promised to stop by whenever their leave was granted, but only as civilians leaving their rings behind on Oa.

In their place was several members of the Green Lantern Corps, unfamiliar in shape and completely incomprehensible without a translator. Their names were immaterial and communication with them could at best be described as curt. They were not friend of Earth or Mars, they were an unbiased third party meant to ensure neither side did something stupid; like start a war.

But the bad news was not over for soon after, King Orin resigned from the Justice League; he offered no explanation. Many asked him to stay, he was a founding member of course. Captain Marvel actually begged him, knees and all. But Aquaman left; choosing instead to focus on his domain exclusively. Some suspected that it had to do with whatever the Daemons of Chaos chose to show him. Regardless of the likelihood of the illusion and no matter how hard they tried to persuade him that it was a deception to break his will, King Orin had made up his mind. But despite Aquaman leaving and a rather teary farewell from Captain Marvel, he made assurances that someone will take his place in due time.

Captain Atom has distanced himself from the rest of the Justice League. The old military man looked upon his life and determined there was little point to it beyond being a 'hero' if he had no one to share it with. Rather he wanted to get back in touch with his children, Peggy and Randy Adams. He would always be there for the Justice League should they need him…but his heart needed more than what the League could offer him.

Katar and Shayera Hol were not exactly 'out', but they were not 'in' either. Whatever they saw, they chose only to share with each other. Horrors of the Warp or not, Hawkman and Hawkwoman decided it was time to take an extended leave of absence, choosing instead to focus on each other, and the possibility of a family.

J'onn J'onzz was a mystery. The Martian Manhunter was gone. Just gone. The Collective refused to comment, and no one could reach him. They would show up on Mars itself regardless of the zero immigration policy that was put into effect. But they half suspected that is what Ma'alefa'ak wanted them to do, finally giving him the fuel needed to unite Mars for a war, Guardians of Oa be dammed. The only assurance the Justice League received was that J'onn J'onzz was alive. Nothing more, nothing less.

Zatara was not exactly gone. In his place stood Doctor Fate, the magical entity. The appearance of Chaos greatly disturbed Nabu. It was agreed, between both Zatara and the Lord of Order that the helmet shall remain upon the magician's head for the time being. It broke Giovanni Zatara's heart knowing he will not speak to his daughter for a long while, but Nabu promised the time would come when he will be taken off, and simultaneously the League promised Zatanna will be looked after until that time.

Black Canary was still 'in' but getting her to speak was…difficult. She was so afraid; the trauma of what happened when she was in the first grade haunted her with a vengeance. But she was not alone, Oliver Queen and her mother Dinah Carolyn Lance (and the first Black Canary) were there for her. Ever so slowly, the younger Black Canary was regaining her confidence.

Green Arrow on the other hand, began to hit the bottle. He hid it well, but when you have someone in the League with superhuman senses, the scent of alcohol always lingers. Oliver Queen was a nervous wreck, he was starting to sell his interests in Queen Industries with a plan to live exclusively as a hero. But some sense of sanity in the form of Black Canary was holding him back or at least slowing his descent. With time he might put down the bottle and with a bit more help, perhaps something will eventuate between him and Miss Lance.

Flash seemed to be the only one who came out of the catastrophe relatively intact; he freely talked about what was done to him by Chaos. Everyone knew that the Scarlet Speedster's sole fear was to be trapped in a single second of time. But Barry Allen was the heart and soul of the group, and he had family and loved ones to help him through. While horrifying as it was, he took it in his stride. While many stumbled, he offered a sense of hope.

Captain Marvel; sweet, naïve, Captain Marvel. He seemed relatively okay, but his faith in his colleagues wavered. The man of 'Shazam' had to hold the rear line against the members of the Justice League who were engulfed by the Warp. Superman, Flash, the Hols, he held them all back; demonstrating a great strength and resilience. But it seemed that trust was slowly starting to be rebuilt. A week after Roanoke, the Justice League provided Marvel with enough cake and ice cream to fill ten birthday parties by way of apology. That day along with the goofy smile on his face gave a sense of normalcy the League sorely needed.

Wonder Woman was one of the few unaffected by the Warp. The daughter of a god does have some advantages. Regardless the ordeal was actually quite exhilarating for her, reminding the Amazon of the time she battled Ares and his armada in the heart of the underworld. But not everything was perfect, with many members of the League out of commission she has been the one to have to deal with public relations fallout 24/7. Clearly she would have preferred to fight Daemons again.

Superman was more rattled. The rotten old man haunted his dreams with assurances that no matter how hard he tried, Earth will never love him and he will never belong. Clark Kent knew it was not real, he knew it was not true and he knew there was no Kryptonite under his house. It still did not stop him from looking under the bed every time just before he went to sleep.

But Batman…The Dark Knight…he had it worst of all…

 _0o0o0o_

 _++ Oh glorious Machine God, may you forgive me for not attending you house and the meagre temple that I have constructed in your honour ++_ The Tech-Priest prayed _++ May you in your omniscience see my plight and grant me mercy ++_

Shell A was Cardsharp's primary facility and 'living quarters', with the winter rolling in and the memories of the Subsector Marxian Campaign never too far from him, he took it upon himself to craft a primitive chapel of the Cult Mechanicus. It was not as grand as the noble churches found aboard the vessels of the Imperium and it was downright pitiful in comparison to those found in the Manufactorums on Holy Mars.

But the Tech-Priest made due with what he had, and hoped that Master Kyriz would be proud of him.

At the forefront was an alter forged from several workbenches, atop which several machines consisting of three carburettors and a refurbished engine from a 1978 Ford F-Series Pickup acted as reliquaries for the church. Suspended on the ceiling was a giant metal cogwheel with the skull as the centrepiece and the primary object of worship.

 _++ Please grant me the strength and wisdom to see through this winter, and may you guide me through the tribulations that besiege this humble Manufactorum ++_ Cardsharp knelt before the alter, his head bowed. _++ Please grant me the forethought to gather more lost souls into your flock, and the integrity to defend this Manufactorum against those that would dishonour it ++_

A crackle of static washed through the relay panel behind him. _"Uhhhh…..Mister Tech-Priest…it's Dobbs. Are you there?"_

 _Ominissiah grant me strength, now what?_ Cardsharp heaved an electronic sigh. "Yes, I am here Mister Dobbs."

" _Ummm, I know you're busy and we don't want to disturb you but…"_ There was a pause on the line. _"We were wondering if you could join us in Shell D."_

Cardsharp dreaded the worst, is it possible one of the mentally ill street survivors has caused another incident? _Omnissiah, I don't need this right now._

"…I'm on my way Mister Dobbs."

0o0o0o

The Dark Knight's predisposition for stealth made him hard to spot. But the disaster at Roanoke made him almost vanish completely. Bruce Wayne however was making more frequent appearances.

Burying Selina Kyle was one of the hardest things he had ever done. He carved out a small segment of the Wayne Plot, a 'prestigious' place on the top of a hill that overviewed most of Gotham City normally reserved for Gotham's noble family. It was a lavish affair, Gotham's Archbishop performed the service himself, an ornate coffin and flowers so prominent you could hardly step without crushing one under your foot.

It was shame that so few attended.

Batman wanted to go public with her as a League associate; to say that she was a hero who died in the line of duty. But the Justice League could not go public about her. If a Justice League associate died in the line of duty, the whole world would want to know who she was, how she died and why. If that happened the Justice League would be in ever greater trouble than they currently are.

So Catwoman died a thief; a profession that had few friends.

Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth and Dick Grayson attended as was expected. The only other person to attend was Holly Robinson, a teenager whose real mother abandoned her when she was eight and got by as a juvenile prostitute before Selina took her in. Holly viewed Catwoman as a surrogate mother; she took Selina's death about as well as you would expect.

Selina Kyle's will ensured Holly would get everything, which was a lot but not extravagantly so; Catwoman never stole with retirement in mind. Bruce Wayne took steps to ensure Holly would want for nothing. The offer to become her ward was rebuffed, Holly had lived on the street for years; she could survive then, she could survive now. Holly Robinson disappeared from Gotham after the funeral, the last thing she said was that she was heading west.

So Bruce Wayne returned to his home and sat quietly in the library until it was night-time. This is normally the time he would put on the cape and cowl, whether it be to patrol Gotham or attend League business. But Justice League business was right out the door.

The Justice League was royally pissed with him. That blasted Tech-Priest revealed the depths of Bruce's paranoia and obsession with information and control. The secret files on the Justice League was damming regardless of what excuse he could muster. The 'worst case scenario' argument about a potentially rogue Justice League was shot down before it even began.

The sheer hypocrisy of Batman's actions if performed by someone else in the League was blatant; because Batman did it was fine, but if Flash did it, everyone including the Dark Knight would be fuming.

To hell with that.

All the deepest and darkest secrets of each Justice League member was ruthlessly investigated and meticulously detailed, from the Octavian stain on Hawkwoman's hip to the true identity of Captain Marvel, a ten year old boy named Billy Baston.

As far as the Justice League were concerned, and he could not entirely blame them, Batman betrayed a sacred trust and was grounds of disqualification. But with the League at half strength, any more losses would be a disaster. They needed to maintain status quo, at least until they could bolster their ranks again.

They did not boot Batman out the door, but it was made perfectly clear that his role as de facto leader was rendered moot and his presence was something they had to be put up with as opposed to being welcomed.

So all that was left was Gotham.

Ever since Roanoke, Bruce has slept even less than he normal. Unfortunately, thanks to Roanoke, he began to see Gotham with new eyes.

And he dreaded what he saw.

For now the Wayne was starting to think that perhaps even though he tried…it was all in vain…and this city can't be saved.

That is why he has not donned the cape in a little over a month. Bruce Wayne cannot trust himself, nor control himself. It will not be safe out there, not for him; but for the criminals who are plaguing the city.

Thus did Bruce Wayne stay in his sanctuary through the Christmas season, hoping to sort out his own thoughts, conscience and inner demons. Once the New Year roles in, and he can finally confront his own nightmares he should be ready to go back out there. Hopefully.

The horrible chorus of the dead and suffering screamed into his mind; denying the Wayne sorely needed rest.

 _Poor pathetic boy, still crying for mommy and daddy. Can you just let it go?!_

In the meantime, Dick had done a wonderful job of holding down the fort. Being the teenager he was, he aptly decided to ignore doctor's (i.e – Alfred's) orders requiring bed rest. Doctor Fate's magic worked wonders, but there was only so much he could do.

As school was on Christmas break he has tackled Gotham with enthusiasm and invigoration. It was almost inspiring and Bruce dared a small smile whenever he heard Dick regale stories of smacking down criminals, in this case Penguin.

"I'm telling you Bruce, you should have been there." Dick smiled as he took off his all black helmet which replaced his standard mask.

Whether it be pride or practicality or a combination of both, the young Grayson's injury at the hands of Tech-Priest caused a nasty skull fracture and further measures needed be taken. Whether it be to protect his head from further injury, or to hide the nasty looking gash along his forehead. Regardless if he was going to go out there, he would be provided with the proper equipment. The helmet was bulletproof and explosive proof and contained a special neck reinforcement with customized cushioning. The helmet would allow Dick to perform all the combat gymnastics he wanted and not suffer from the side effects of a fractured skull.

"I'm telling you, Penguin nearly choked on his fish when I flew in." Dick smiled.

"I'm sure he did, Dick." Bruce smirked. "I take it you managed to find the weapons casings."

"You betcha." Dick flipped a customized ammo casing with his thumb. "These were supposed to go through to Deadshot, but that ain't happening now."

"Excellent work." Bruce relaxed. "Well done Dick. I'm proud of you."

The young ward seemed to glow at the compliment, he was about to tell him about the next shipment coming in but that was quickly dropped.

"MASTER DICK!" The distinctive voice of a very angry British male echoed throughout the house.

"Uh-oh." Dick paled. In stormed Alfred, his moustache furrowing from side to side in frustration.

"Master Dick what are you doing in that uniform?! Why are you not in bed?!"

"Sorry Alfred." Robin's smile torn between embarrassed and nervous. "But-"

"No 'buts' young man." Alfred pulled the helmet out of the youth's hands. "Speaking of which, get your 'butt' back up to bed right now."

"Alfred, I'm fine I swear. I just need- OW!" Dick's explanation was interrupted as the elderly butler lightly flicked the young ward in the forehead with his index finger.

"Yes, I am _sure_ you are perfectly healed." Alfred snarked so hard, even Bruce blinked in surprise. "You are going up to bed right now young man, or so help me I will _give_ you a reason to go to the hospital."

"Ugh…fine." Robin pouted, rubbing his forehead gently.

"Now go." Alfred seemed to calm down almost immediately. "The sooner you get up there, the sooner I'll bring you the baked snapper which is currently in the oven."

Dick's eyes lit up at the mention of his favourite food sure enough he could smell it now that it was mentioned. "You got it Alfred."

The young ward waved as he slowly made his way back up to his room.

"I must protest Master Bruce." Alfred lost his gentle smile. "I do not approve of how you allow Master Dick to indulge in his night-time activities when he is still recovering from his injury."

"I do not condone what he does."

"You can lie to reporters, investigators and everyone else Master Bruce." Alfred finally turned to face his surrogate son. "You cannot lie to me." Bruce Wayne was suddenly twelve years old again being caught red-handed sneaking out of his bedroom.

"I understand that you cannot do your normal patrols. Especially considering what happened, I understand that more than you possibly realise." Alfred continued. "But you cannot place this much pressure on the boy. He needs rest as do you."

"I would not send Dick on things that he cannot handle." Bruce steepled his fingers. "I always made sure he never bit off more than he could chew."

"That's a poor excuse Master Bruce, and you know better. I taught you that much." Alfred's grey eyes narrowed.

"Crime does not take the Christmas break Alfred." Bruce frowned. "There needs to be someone out there to keep the criminals scared. I can't do it…I'm….not ready."

"I can tell." Alfred's frown softened. "You look like you have not seen sleep in a while Master Bruce. I have seen you better rested when you were donning the costume."

"I can't sleep." Bruce felt the black rings under his eyes. "When I do, they are all there….They are waiting for me."

 _Poor pathetic boy, still crying for mommy and daddy. Can you just let it go?!_

"Their deaths, were not your fault Master Bruce." Alfred offered.

"I'm not so sure anymore Alfred. After Roanoke, the feeling that I have blood on my hands is all too real." Bruce admitted. "I need time to process this. That is why I have entrusted some matters to Dick. Someone needs to let Gotham know that crime does not pay."

"I'm sure crime will be there in the New Year, Master Bruce." Alfred thumbed the helmet in his hands noticing a scratch mark along the side of it, likely from a knife. "Both you and Master Dick need a break now more than ever. I don't want Master Dick out there again. If he is, I will not be _impressed_."

Bruce winced, Alfred sure knew how to drive home a point. Many old memories were brought up once more.

A hurried rush of steps came towards them. "Bruce! Alfred!" Dick called out.

"Master Dick," Alfred's temple throbbed, "I swear to you…"

Dick rushed into the room phone in hand his attire changed to that of lounging clothes, the look on his face said he was not playing around. "Bruce you have to see this!"

He handed the Wayne heir the phone, the sounds of complete carnage coming over the speaker. It was a news story and based on the timing it was live.

" _Cat Grant of GBS here live at the Amusement Mile in Gotham City. It appears that the Christmas Season is not exempt from the Joker's activities. The criminal mastermind, known on the street as the Clown Prince of Crime has escaped from Arkham Asylum and is wreaking havoc on the Gotham populace. Fifteen dead, thirty wounded and GCPD seems powerless to stem the tide. The Joker has barricaded himself inside the Amusement Mile Carnival with over two dozen hostages. There have been no demands and any communication has been violently rebuffed. The GCPD fear the worst and Batman is nowhere to be found."_

Bruce Wayne did not so much as turn off the phone as crushing it his hands. _No. Not now! Why now of all times?!_

"I'll suit up." Dick's sprint was quickly halted with Alfred's firm grip.

"You are not going anywhere Master Dick."

"Alfred, we need to do this! Didn't you hear?! Joker has hostages, we have to save them."

"I know what they said." Alfred nodded grimly. "But that changes nothing, you can't go out there. Lest of all to face _him._ "

"I can do it. I'm ready!" Dick sounded confident, but he lost that cocky tone. He had good reason to; it was the Joker. If Robin still had that certain smug smile on his face then he was a damn fool; and Bruce Wayne trained him better than that.

"No." Bruce finally spoke up, his voice icy…seething. "No you're not."

Dick pleaded. "But Bruce-"

"This is not some second rate thug like Penguin. No one is ready against the Joker." Bruce finally stood up from his chair. "I have to go."

"Master Bruce….don't." Alfred has looked after the Wayne heir since he was in diapers, and he knew the look on Bruce's face. "Master Bruce." Alfred stood firm. "You can't go either. You are not ready. You need time after Roanoke…"

 _Poor pathetic boy, still crying for mommy and daddy. Can you just let it go?!_

"What would you have me do Alfred?!" Bruce thundered out the room calling behind him. "Stand by and let that maniac kill more people. No! I'm going!"

Bruce marched through to the cave leaving a stunned Dick Grayson and an incredibly worried Alfred Pennyworth.

0o0o0o

Cardsharp gingerly made his way through the snow, his bulk slowing him down. It was something he had to fix inevitably, but as Master Kyriz said; one step at a time.

The Tech-Priest stopped just on the corner of Shell D, a tired sigh echoed through is vox. Steeling himself for the worst he straightened his cybernetic form and rounded the corner.

And there they were, hundreds of them. They gathered around the entrance of Shell D, clearly waiting for him.

"What appears to be the problem?" Tech-Priest scanned the living quarters looking for whatever anomaly would require his attention.

They parted to reveal a rather large green tree, decorated head to toe with ornaments and blinking lights. The tree was pine and it looked dry and partially dilapidated. It seemed like an inappropriate use of energy and a fire hazard. Underneath it were various items of different sizes, crudely wrapped in flowery paper.

"What is that?" Tech-Priest asked.

"It's a Christmas Tree." Dobbs answered slightly uncertain. "Don't you like it?"

 _= Status: Scanning Database 'Christmas Tree' =_

 _= Result: Symbolic decoration associated with the Christian religious holiday 'Christmas', the annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ =_

"I do not celebrate Christmas." Tech-Priest clarified. "But do not let that stop you, I will not impede your religious practices."

"You don't celebrate Christmas?" Dobbs' smile faded slightly. "Well it doesn't matter." The man gestured to Clark and the man called 'Spit' (the Tech-Priest has been unable to verify is real name, so he had to settle for the name Mister Spit).

The hastily rushed to the tree and picked out one wrapped item and rushed over to the Tech-Priest. The placed the item in Tech-Priest's reluctant hands. The red-robed adept stared at them, head titled slightly off-side.

"Tradition calls of them to be opened of Christmas Day." Dobbs scratched his head in embarrassment. "But we talked and we thought it best we bring one out now. We know how hard it has been Tech-Priest; looking after us I mean. You provide food, heat, shelter. You give us everything. We are truly grateful."

"You are welcome, Mister Dobbs." Tech-Priest returned a spare optic to the clumsily wrapped item held in his hands. A light scan concluded that although it was _ticking_ , it was not an explosive device. "But I fail to see what _this_ ," Cardsharp lightly shook the item in his hand, "has to do with that."

"Well…It's a gift Tech-Priest." Dobbs smiled nervously. "From us to you."

 _A gift…?_ Cardsharp did not really know what to say to that. He had only received two gifts in his life, KA64 from the Adeptus Mechanicus and KA63 from Master Kyriz…and now this.

"You unwrap it." Dobbs made a ripping motion with his hands. Cardsharp complied, peeling the paper from the item revealing what lay beneath. "We know how much you like machines so we thought something like that would be appropriate."

Cardsharp's bionic heart nearly skipped a beat; in his hands was a Detroit Diesel vintage tin sign clock. It was a two hand clock, but he could feel the battery powered mechanism tick in his hands. It was simplistic but beautiful. It was funny, during his tenure in the Manufactorums of Mars and during the Subsector Marxian Campaign, he always knew the time. For the Tallarn that did not; that was where the mission clock aboard the ship would come into play.

Never once had the Tech-Priest seen an analog clock in his life. He had heard about them sure, many senior Tech-Priests including the odd Magos would tease the young adepts of how there is one anolog clock left in the entire Imperium and you may find it in the High Altar of Technology but you must be worthy to grace its presence. Many Tech-Priests would be incredibly jealous, if not outright frothing envious, if they found out Cardsharp received such a gift.

"Do you like it?" Dobbs asked uncertain.

"It's beautiful." Tech-Priest continued looking at it, entranced by the slight shift in the minute hand. "Thank you Mister Dobbs. Thank you all."

"I'm glad." Dobbs smiled. "Merry Christmas, Tech-Priest."

Cardsharp gingerly looked up, and although his guests could not see it, a very smile graced his lips. In that moment, all the trials and tribulations and the loneliness…all of that seemed to fall away. "Merry Christmas, Mister Dobbs."

0o0o0o

Amusement Mile used to be the talk of the town, a place open every day of the week. It was beloved by adults and children alike and was always a popular weekend activity.

At least before the Joker; who decided to make it his favourite 'haunting ground'.

Amusement Mile was seldom the same since. The once popular retreat was now taboo; its all week openings were limited to the weekends and that was if the Joker did not cause another disaster.

While it attracted crowds, they were the shadow of its glory days past. Most of its visitors consisted of tourists eager for a story to take home and kids too young or too dumb to know of Gotham's sad history with clowns.

That night Amusement Mile was strangely alive. Not with the sound of children or rides or merry-go-arounds theme tunes.

Instead there was enough police swarming the area you would have thought the entire Gotham City Police Department was there…and they probably were. The sounds of sirens and radio chatter filled the air on all frequencies.

The Joker was quiet for twelve months, two weeks, five days and three hours give or take. So when he decided to step back into centre stage he wanted to make an impression, a point if you will, that Gotham was his. Always was, always will be.

There were dead and wounded everywhere, and it kept of mounting. Every now and then, the Joker would take a shot at someone; police or civilian. The police could not do much, they could storm the place guns blazing, but who knew what kind of booby trap the Joker concocted. Perhaps he was sitting on a tonne of Smilex and symtex ready to turn Gotham into a chemical wasteland or perhaps he had nothing up his sleeve (apart from a lot of knives); you never knew with him.

Right now the Joker was holed up in 'Tunnel of Love' dressed in a Santa costume, fake white beard and all. No one, not even the Joker, could guarantee that the costume's colour was natural red and not blood. He did not care, he was having a total hoot.

The Tunnel of Love was a 'seasonal' ride that was turned on in summer, in winter it was practically frozen. But that night the lights were on, and music was playing loud.

The Joker hummed his favourite song while taking another pot shot at a SWAT member trying to circle around back. "Jingle Bells! Batman Smells! Robin Laid an Egg! The Batmobile Lost a Wheel! And Joker got aaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy!"

Clearly expecting some sort of applause from his audience (i.e – bound and gagged hostages) he was sorely disappointed when all he received were muffled cries for mercy and sobbing. _Booooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggggg!_

"Come on people! Where's your Christmas Spirit?!" Joker mused. "I swear; every year the kids grow more distant from tradition. I bet half of you don't even have a Christmas tree up. Don't worry; your old Uncle Joker will liven things up for you."

"NO MORE!" The pale clown did not have to turn around to know who was about to fly through some skylight (even through the Tunnel of Love did not have a skylight) and kick him halfway across the tunnel. After being sent careening through the air he landed back on the ground with an 'Oof!'

"Oh Bats! Where have you been? I've missed you!" Joker laughed as he slowly got back up cradling a broken rib or three. "No one has seen you since Roanoke Crater. Ha! "

"Enough Joker." Batman's form stepped into the dim light normally meant to 'set the mood' for couples. It seemed weirdly appropriate, at least for the Joker.

"See what I mean?" Joker turned to his captive 'audience'. "No foreplay, no finessing, no serenading. Just straight into the roughhousing."

"What do you want Joker?" Batman clearly was not in the mood. Sure he never was during the Christmas season, Joker pulled a stunt in 2008 involving a thousand cyanide pies and a Mazzerati and the Dark Knight was less than thrilled with the clown's 'present'. But the Batman seemed surly, well… _surlier_ than usual.

"Oh come on Bats, you know tis the season to be jolly. I thought it would be great to spend some quality time with loved ones." Joker tried subtly to reach for the joke pistol hidden in the back of his pants. "I mean I would have done it on Christmas day itself, but most people leave for the holidays and I know how much you love to brood alone on the birthday of our Lord and Saviour. So I thought; 'why not have an early get together?'"

"Let the hostages go Joker." Batman grunted through gritted teeth.

"What hostages? Oh you mean these hostages?" Joker snatched a bound woman by the arm and used her as a shield, gun against her temple. "You know this reminds me of a joke…"

Thus began the routine; the old song and dance that Joker and Batman loved so much. Joker would spiel, Batman would retort, Joker would kill a hostage or two and Batman would save the day. Rinse and repeat.

At least that would normally happen.

"How many people have I killed," Batman muttered, his voice just a hitch above a whisper, "by letting you live?"

Joker paused midway through his punchline which would have involved the acid flower on his lapel. "Well, Bats I never kept count."

"I did." Batman straightened.

"I know." The Joker's smile bared in the dim light. "And I love you for it Bats. Always did."

Something flashed through the dim light, too quickly to make out. It launched right through the bound woman's shoulder and blasted the clown's collar bone into smithereens. The hostage screamed as she fell to the ground blood pouring from the open would in her shoulder. The Joker's gun hand fell limp against his side, tendons and nerve connections severed completely.

"AGH!" The pale clown fell backward away from the injured woman, he gazed at the contusion in his shoulder, a large 'bat-shaped' chunk of metal sticking out of it. "BATS! Are you out of your goddamn mind?! You hurt the hostage?! That's my job!"

"Two thousand, one hundred and thirteen." Batman remained a statue. "No more Joker. I am done playing."

 _Poor pathetic boy, still crying for mommy and daddy. Can you just let it go?!_

Joker gazed into the eyes of his 'opposite', and he saw something there. Something very familiar.

"Oh…be still my beating heart…." The Joker's smile widened in realisation. "It's finally here isn't it?...The moment we both dreamed about…"

Batman stalked forward with purpose walking over the sobbing injured woman.

 _Poor pathetic boy, still crying for mommy and daddy. Can you just let it go?!_

"Jeez Bats, can you give a guy a little more warning?" The gun fell out of the Joker's useless hand and he reached for a bladed knife hidden in one of his many pockets with his other.

Batman lunged forward and punched the Joker square in the face, breaking his nose and possibly dislodging several front teeth. "This isn't quite how I imagined it…I had plans Bats!"

Joker lunged and slashed and threw. The moment a blade left his hand, he reached into his coat to pull out another. Cake cutter, potato peeler, trimming knife, banana, cleaver, bread knife…

"I had parades, confetti and friggin unicorns." Joker spat out a glop of blood. "It was going to be one for the history books!"

 _Can you just let it go?!_

The Dark Knight leaned, ducked and dodged getting closer and closer and closer. "But we could still end on a high note." The Joker feinted right and quickly side stepped and shoved his knife, in this case it was a 12-inch military blade with a carbon fibre handle into Batman's gut.

Batman's armour shrugged most of it off, but it made impact nonetheless. Joker laughed as he felt warm blood stain his hands.

"Oh Bats!" Joker giggled. "You still manage to surprise me, even after all these years."

Batman's hands instantly moved, grabbing Joker's knife hand with his left and the clown's neck with his right.

The Dark Knight only made one sound. "Heh."

 _Can you just let it go?!_

"You laugh?" Joker blinked in surprise. "HA! I knew it! Come one Bats, let me in on it; what made you decide to go for the gold?"

Batman stared back with blank eyes, not impressed, not in the least bit enjoying the situation.

 _Can you just let it go?!_

"You were right Joker." Batman sighed, age in his voice and fatigue in his tone. "You were always right. I can't win."

"Oh come on Bats!" Joker choked. "You're on the home run! Don't quit on me now! Not after you were talking up your game! Come on this is your chance, kill me!"

"Shut up."

"Make me Bats."

Batman stared at the clown, and the Joker stared back with matched intensity. The poor hostages cowering in a darkened corner.

"You know Joker, here I am and with a simple movement I can end it all." Batman whispered to his nemesis. "And the truly sad part is…I thought I would be happier."

"This isn't doing anything for you?" Joker blinked. "Then why do it?"

 _Can you just let it go?!_

"Because I was in a situation once." Batman confessed. "I could not see another way out, and I did something I am not proud of."

"This isn't your first time?" Joker's mouth gaped, hurt in his voice. "You did it without me?!"

The Dark Knight ignored the Joker's rant about 'fidelity' and continued. "Everyone is telling me it was the right thing. Even when every fibre in my being says otherwise. I think this is the end for us both Joker."

"You are not going on a killing spree?" Joker gawked. "Come on! Bats, this was supposed to be the moment you saw my side of things! Remember my song? _'We are two of a kind, violent, unsound of mind, you're the yin to my yang, can't you see?_ '"

"We are nothing alike Joker." Batman interrupted. "I do this with no joy, no absolution. I condemn myself and I do it out of nothing more than duty. "The Joker realised the pain on the Batman's face. This is not fun for him, and he will likely spend the rest of his life regretting this action.

Things began to stir in the insane and broken mind. "Oh Bats…what happened on Roanoke Island?" The Joker looked concerned, asking the question like a close friend. "What happened to you?"

 _Can you just let it go?!_

"I realised…" Batman concluded. "Out of all the years I have donned this mantle, I have only ever done two good deeds. One of them is when I killed someone I loved dearly who was desperately longing for death…"

"And the other?" The Joker prodded.

 _ **Can you just let it go?!**_

Batman and Joker looked into each other's eyes, and a conversation without words passed between them. Batman was miserable and the Joker was disappointed. It seemed the game has been called over, not because one team lost or quit or went on a rampage and killed the umpire; but on account of a storm that was never going to end.

 _ **CAN YOU JUST LET IT GO?!  
**_

Batman jerked the hand around the Joker's throat as violently as he could.

CRACK!

The Joker's spine snapped beneath the Dark Knight's fingers.

"This." Batman let go of the man he fought for so long, studied so long, hated so long and wanted to see suffer for so long. The limp form of Gotham's worst mass murderer fell, head twisted at an awkward angle, landing on the frozen ground with a thud.

The Crown Prince of Crime became no more.

"Oh my God…." A hostage whispered "….he did it."

Batman stared at the corpse of the Joker, thoughts known only to him. He silently turned around and headed out the front entrance of the 'Tunnel of Love'.

The Dark Knight paused only briefly to stare at the hostage whom he hurt, a young woman's bleeding shoulder began to soak through her coat.

"….I'm sorry."

The Batman left without another word.

0o0o0o

There we have it folks.

Hope you enjoyed it.

Review and PM as always. Take care!


	13. Chapter 13

Hey Guys new chapter.

Thanks to Jonas Copperwire and Mark Twain II LOL for their help in this matter. I greatly appreciate your thoughts and ideas.

I should mention first, there is a little bit of religion bashing in this chapter. I don't mean to offend, it just felt 'Tech-Priest-y'. It should make sense in context.

Hope you guys enjoy it.

Chapter 13

As the Manufactorum had little else to do as the snow locked down the entire State of Michigan, Cardsharp had little to do except explore the forgotten histories of Terra, even if it was an alternate dimension.

But history gave way to a new and much more important mission.

The Internet was a very disturbing place; YouTube comments, everything on 4chan, an obsession with something called 'memes', and the pornography…so much pornography.

But it got worse when the Tech-Priest delved into the Deep and Dark Web of the Internet and the things that occurred there. Cardsharp could not believe what he found; _**computer crime.**_

Most of the time, computer crime would be handled by the Adeptus Arbites. Those found guilty of 'cyber-crime'; were subject to penalties ranging from a five year stint in a prison cell to a life sentence in a far-flung penal colony. It all depended on the gravity of the crime, who it affected, and how annoyed the Arbitrator was at the time of sentence.

But every now and then, some poor sap drew the interest of the Adeptus Mechanicus itself. To warrant such interest was a matter to be determined by the Tech-Priest on site; maybe someone hacked the wrong system or infiltrated the wrong network…or perhaps they were dumb enough to do it right when a red-robed adept passed by. To the noble followers of the Cult Mechanicus, it was called 'Tech-Heresy'. Any human with even a sliver of self-preservation knows that to be investigated for 'Tech-Heresy' by the Adeptus Mechanicus means you made a _really_ _ **bad**_ choice at some point in your life.

During late December 2009 and early January 2010, the Tech-Priest spearheaded his own private little 'skirmish' into the darkest parts of the internet reflecting in a way the sickness inside humanity's soul. He spent most of his time trapping and tracing every single IP, ULA and physical address from Canada to Azerbaijan and forwarding it to Interpol's Cybercrime Division and shutting down every darknet market he could find.

But for every one of these blasted sites he took down, three more sprang back up, like cockroaches. Some of them dared to try and attack him. Like a wasp nest, swarms of insects sprung out trying to sting the Tech-Priest out of their network.

These degenerates who were committing such flagrant violations of the machine spirt should count themselves lucky that Tech-Priest did not have the immediate resources and limited jurisdiction to deal with them personally.

But that was not the case for 'Wonderland', a darknet market whom the red-robed adept traced to Detroit. It was a dark place that dealt with child pornography, and various psychometric drugs, most likely used for the manipulation of children. Wonderland was managed and run by someone called the 'Mad Hatter', who ran the market like a king.

Cardsharp realised this 'Mad Hatter' would make a very fine example to the others.

But there was the issue of resources.

Tech-Priest's supplies of raw material had run dry some time ago.

He had to get more.

0o0o0o

 _++Oh mighty Machine God, thank you for your mercy in this moment: 0 178 010.M3 ++_

It was early January 2010, a mere week had passed since the New Year. Whether it be prophetic or luck, the weather began to clear. Sure it was still winter and cold was tumultuous, but the snow had ceased and the sun was shining.

Cardsharp knelt before the crude alter, the Detroit Diesel vintage clock hung to the side in a place of honour next to another gift that was provided by the residents of Shell D and Shell F; an Oster Copper toaster model 6309. Both were held high, as testaments to the Machine God.

 _++ May you take pity on your servant and grant me the gift of intuition and further your cause of the Cult Mechanicus ++_ Tech-Priest saw an opportunity as he finished his morning prayer. _++ In the name of your noble prophets; Galileo, Tesla and Ford. Glory to the Omnissiah++_

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

Cardsharp turned to face the last of his unfinished projects; a rusted grey 1977 Ford Pinto cruising wagon.

Cardsharp had worked with some truly difficult machine spirits but the spirt that dwelled in the heart of the rusted relic was truly stubborn. However, he could hardly blame it. Whatever cruel soul who caged the machine spirit in this metal rust bucket would have been condemned to live out their existence as a rudimentary servitor with the sole directive of bashing its head against the wall.

May the Omnissiah forgive whoever designed and built the barely roadworthy scrapheap that was the Ford Pinto. It was volatile and inefficient; its fuel system was pathetically designed and its drum brakes were a joke. The Lima OHC 2.3L engine could barely carry the car it was built in and the machine spirit would throw a hissy fit whenever Tech-Priest used the left turn signal lever.

Cardsharp shook his head, he had to focus and remember his Rune-Priest training. Master Kyriz would never give up on a machine spirit and neither would he. The Tech-Priest had been working with the tortured machine spirit within for almost a month with no success, but by the Omnissiah today was the day.

Cardsharp took steps with the holy teaching of the Adeptus Mechanicus. This machine sprit will be appeased if it was the last thing he ever does.

 _Remember the rituals,_ Cardsharp thought, _light the holy candle, may it's light shine like the burning spirit of the Omnissiah. Write the Holy Scriptures upon thrice blessed parchment. Place the wax seal upon the machine's skirting, and apply the holy writings with the heat of your calculated faith._

To a layman, one could scarcely recognise the vehicle that hid under the parchment upon which was written binary and various computer languages. That was of course, if a laymen ever actually got over the fact that a car was surrounded by candles.

The adept went through all the proper procedures:

' _Withdraw the needle of the womb,_

 _May its blood run black as the night._

 _May the veins of copper be set,_

 _And the system be strong and airtight,_

 _May its mind be filled with lightning,_

 _Ensuring a metal beast with filled with might._

 _Feel the heart to of the machine,_

 _May it not flutter and panic in fright._

 _Apply the sacred unguent,_

 _May it alleviate iron from its plight._

 _Test the eyes of its holy shell,_

 _May they blink in periodic light._

 _Align and rotate the teeth and neck,_

 _Blessed be it free of its own bite._

 _Offer your prayers to the Machine God,_

 _May it look upon your work with delight.'_

 _All is ready._ Cardsharp sat in the driver's seat, key in the ignition. _It's now or never._

 _Toll the Great Bell Once!_

 _Pull the lever forward to engage the Piston and Pump…_

 _Toll the Great Bell Twice!_

 _With the push of the Button fire the Engine and spark the Turbine to life…_

 _Toll the Great Bell Thrice!_

 _Sing Praise to the God of All Machines._

The engine cranked and screeched like a dying animal, then shuddered before finally collapsing in silence.

 _++ By the Omnissiah not again ++_ The Tech-Priest got out of the vehicle and blasted into a string of binaric cants and curses. He grabbed his holy rod (i.e. – big crowbar) and headed back to the uncooperative and mischevious machine spirit. _++ May my charges be guarded against malfunction, as my soul is guarded from impurity._ _The Machine God watches over me, and may the machine spirit hear my praise ++_ The Tech-Priest said, perhaps a little too angrily

Cardsharp applied three rather firm 'technical knocks' upon the engine. The clanging of metal against metal echoed around Shell A.

VROOM!

Finally, after a month of prayers and incense, the rusted grey 1977 Ford Pinto cruising wagon sprang to life with a sudden roar.

 _++ Thank you, oh blessed Machine Spirit. Forgive me if have I have offended thee ++_

The Tech-Priest sat back into the driver's seat and shifted the car into gear and drove his way forward and out of the Manufactorum. Cardsharp already knew where to make his first stop.

0o0o0o

Henry Simon Irons was the owner of ISM – Irons Scrap Management; the largest collector of scrap metal in Midwestern United States. They had depots in every capital city of every state in the USA, but their headquarters was in Ann Arbour just off US Highway 23. The Irons family was always been based in Michigan as far back as history would allow. The family company ISM was created by Henry's grandfather, Alex Marcus Irons.

No one would have ever anticipated an African-American family would be captains of industry in the 1910's. But Alex Marcus Irons proved them all wrong; in a few short years, when everyone was busy with the new, Alex forged a Michigan-spanning empire out of the obsolete.

He passed things onto his son, Simon Alex Irons in the 1960's. Simon did things different than his father; he operated with a certain shrewdness and cunning that would have made him a welcome addition to Wall Street. Instead he ensured that all scrap from the beating heart of USA's industry went to him, making him the largest owner of metal shy of the United States Steel Corporation.

It was in the early 1990's when, Simon's son Henry Simon Irons took over the family business. Unlike his father, he had not ruthless ambitions. Rather he wished to consolidate ISM, with the full intention of making it the sole scrap rights of metal for all the major industrial corporations in the USA. After years of hard work Henry Simon Irons was on the verge of finalising a massive government contract for steel scrap rights, all while fighting off competitors and hostile takeovers.

Naturally, the GFC changed everything.

ISM took a rather nasty hit, Henry Irons had to refinance his home just to stay afloat. With major automotive corporations completely wiped out, people no longer buying what he was selling, banks closing in for the kill, and the government cancelling all contracts deemed unnecessary, the Irons family company was left in a precarious position. For the first time since its foundation it had to lay off workers and many of its work sites had to be closed down.

ISM's future was in doubt.

But Henry Simon Irons wished that was the only thing plaguing him.

It was in these troubled times that Henry would walk through the large scrapyard that spanned upward of 300 acres. It was not pretty, but it was peaceful. The cold air in his lungs made him feel like he could fly away from all the problems that plagued him.

"Mister Henry Irons?" A voice asked behind him.

"Oh for fucks sake." Henry groaned as he turned around. "I told you I will get the money next week…?"

Banks have been sending men in suits demanding money. The person, if you could call it that, was not a man in suit. It looked like a rather bulking humanoid covered in a red robe, a single gleaming red eye was all that could be seen from the hood. Henry Irons felt nauseated as saw strange looking machine tendrils slithering at its feet. "Who the hell are you?"

"I am Tech-Priest." The red-robed man-like thing held a small badge with 'JL' with a malnourished and pale hand. "Justice League Affiliate."

"Justice League?" Henry scoffed. "They're not doing too well in the public relations front."

"I would not know." Tech-Priest waved it off. "I do not read the news."

"Sure. Whatever." Henry rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"

"I require significant amount of machinery and raw materials." Tech-Priest glanced around the stacked cars around them. "I was hoping to come to some sort of arrangement with you."

 _A customer,_ Henry blinked, _well that is a pleasant surprise._

"If you are looking for raw scrap we can arrange it at around 40 cents a kilo. If you are looking for premium quality steel we can arrange it at a flat rate of 95 cents a kilo. Do you require it melted down?"

"No raw material is fine." Tech-Priest responded. "But I think I should clarify. I am not here to purchase raw materials. Merely to acquire them."

Henry could not believe what he was hearing. "What?"

"I do not have money." The one called Tech-Priest remained immobile.

"Let me get this straight." Henry grunted. "You expect me to give you whatever amount of steel and scrap you want….for free?"

"Yes." Tech-Priest seemed rather nonchalant.

"Very funny." Henry sneered, clearly not finding it funny at all. "Get out of here."

"I assure you this is not a joke."

"You Justice League are real assholes you know that?" Henry growled. "You think you can just come here and demand stuff from me for free?"

"I am not Justice League." Tech-Priest emphasised. "Merely affiliated with them nothing more."

"I don't give a rat's ass what you are. Get the hell off my property."

"Mister Irons I can assure you, whatever material you provide would be used for a good and noble purpose."

"You don't listen too well do ya pal?" Henry knew every inch of the scrapyard he played in when he was a child. Without looking, he yanked a baseball bat with embedded nails out from a nearby car trunk. "Clear out now fella before I make you."

Whatever bluster Henry Irons had was quickly robbed when a very unpleasant looking weapon appeared over the Tech-Priest's shoulder, and it aimed directly at him. It looked like something out of Star Wars and emitted a high frequency 'vweeeeeeeee'.

"Put the weapon down, Mister Irons." The Tech-Priest's voice lost its 'human' touch as layers of electronic distortion overlaid it. "I do not wish to hurt you, but I will if you force me."

Henry complied; he would argue that Justice League do not hurt, much less kill…but ever since the stint with Batman and the Joker last month, no one was sure of anything anymore. The moment the bat touched the floor, the weapon withdrew over Tech-Priest's shoulder.

"Thank you Mister Irons." Tech-Priest quipped.

"I can't give you anything." Henry frowned, his eyes looking into the sky. "I need as much money as I can get."

"I can understand, the GFC has caused many problems." Tech-Priest nodded slowly.

"Not that, I can handle that." Henry waved it away. "It's for my son."

"Inheritance?"

"Medical treatment." Henry paled. "The machine support alone costs a fortune."

Tech-Priest tiled his head, waiting for more information.

"About two years ago, my son was on a school bus. But there was an accident….drunk driver." Henry recounted the tale, the memory still fresh. "My son's spine was broken in three separate places. Now he is in a chair, he can't walk, he can barely speak and he cannot use the bathroom."

"I'm sorry." Tech-Priest sounded very robotic, not knowing what else to say. Henry was not surprised, that is the same response he always gets.

"So I am not giving you anything Tech-whatever." Henry glared back. "So get off my property, before I call the real cops."

The red-robed adept remained motionless, clearly thinking about something. "If I can help him, would you give me the raw materials?"

"You can't." Henry rolled his eyes. "It's beyond modern science. The pre-op is just to help him control his biological functions, and even then it probably won't help."

"Humour me." Tech-Priest continued. "If I could help your son regain full function, would you give me the raw materials I require?"

 _What a crank._ "HA!" Henry wandered off. "If you can help my son, I will give you the keys to the entire kingdom!"

"I take it then we have a deal." Tech-Priest ignored the scathing sarcasm.

"Sure! Why not?!" The elderly Irons called out behind him. "So shall we schedule that date at some time after quarter-past-never?!"

Tech-Priest slowly wandered back to the exit. "No," he muttered as be began to disassemble several mechandrites on his form, "I think this afternoon should be just fine."

 _Find the residence of Henry Simon Irons._

 _= Status: Searching =_

0o0o0o

The Irons family lived in Frain Lake. A rather large home, not necessarily a mansion but it was definitely not a quaint cottage. It was an ancestral home dedicated to supporting the Irons family, no matter how large they may be.

Most of the Irons were out working in the family business depots. It left only Sarah Jessica Irons, Henry's wife and John Henry Irons, their ten year old son.

The accident changed John Henry Irons dramatically, the eight year old boy who loved life was rendered into a meagre wheelchair, his entire back supported by a series of expensive looking machines to help him keep breathing. His entire life was spent being directed to and from, bound by a schedule determined by his doctors.

Henry Simon Irons always had dreams of passing the business to his son, as his father did with him. But it seemed unlikely; for how can John look after a business when he cannot even look after himself?

"Okay sweetie." Sarah smiled holding a spoon filled semi-liquid food to the boys mouth. "Here we go, try to eat this." The boy barely opened his mouth, and choked and coughed as the food went down his throat. "That's my boy."

Knock, knock.

Sarah raised a brow; who could it be? She received her answer when she opened a door to reveal a gaunt clean shaven boy with a glowing red eye; his form was covered by a red-robe. Two large floating skulls flanked him.

"Missus Sarah Irons?" His voice over layered with electronic humming. "Do not be alarmed. I am Tech-Priest; a Justice League affiliate."

"Okay…umm…Tech-Priest." Sarah carefully looked at the badge he held. "How can I help you?"

"I have spoken to your husband, Mister Henry Irons." Tech-Priest continued. "He has informed me that your son, John Henry Irons has suffered from a serious accident."

"Drunk driving is hardly an accident." Sarah commented bitterly.

"I have been advised that your husband will assist me, if I were to help your son's condition." Tech-Priest droned. "May I come in?"

"You can help my son?" Sarah was stunned. The Tech-Priest took her walking back in surprise as an invitation because he gingerly walked in. The two floating skulls trailed alongside. What really got Sarah's attention was the rather large series of electronic cabling trailing behind the Tech-Priest.

"I believe I can." The Tech-Priest scanned the house, the red eye twitching and writhing. Without being told he moved into the kitchen to find the confined boy. John Henry Irons displayed little reaction apart from the widening of the eyes.

 _Conduct biological scan._

 _= Status: Scanning =_

 _= Result: Spinal cord injury: cervical vertebra 4 (C4), thoracic vertebra 7 (T7) and lumbar vertebra 1 (L1). Head trauma: minor contusion of Parietal Lobe =_

 _That's bad._ Cardsharp shivered. _It will require a significant amount of my own cybernetics_.

"Master John Henry Irons?" Tech-Priest walked to him. "I am Tech-Priest. I have been tasked with helping you walk again."

"How?" Sarah emphasised. "How would you do that? The doctors said it could not be done!"

"Science plays a role in this, but not exclusively." Tech-Priest did not bother to take his eyes away from the boy. "It is a matter of faith."

"Faith?!" Sarah's head spun. "We tried everything! Faith healers, doctors, scientists. Nothing will work. You can't walk in here and start offering hope when there is none, it's cruel! Faith is not enough!"

"For your god perhaps." Tech-Priest mused. "You are Christian?"

"Yes." Sarah nodded.

"Of course." Tech-Priest continued. "I have read your Holy Bible. Near as I can tell, your god has not done anything for over two thousand years. He has grown fat and lazy, feeding off your prayers and giving nothing in return. Your god has failed you…perhaps it is time to embrace a new deity."

"I don't want to talk about this!" Sarah pointed out the door. "Get out of my house!"

"With all due respect Missus Irons, I am here to deal with your son. Not you." Tech-Priest remained stationary, the two skulls hovering next to him like balloons. "I can help your son walk again, Missus Irons, but I cannot do it alone. Your son must play a role in his own healing."

"He cannot make this decision!" Sarah fumed. "He's only ten."

"And I am offering him an opportunity." Tech-Priest responded. "If your son says no, I will leave and you will never see me again."

Sarah Irons eyes turned red from tears, but said nothing.

The Tech-Priest saw his chance.

"Master John Henry Irons, I am the child of the Omnissiah and cultist of the Machine God." Tech-Priest leant forward his optics locking with the boy's eyes. "And unlike your god, the Machine God is ambitious and eager to prove itself. Where your god does not answer your prayers, the Machine God can and will help you walk again and it will help you talk again."

The young boy's eyes widened in disbelief, his mouth moving gingerly.

"But the Machine God cannot do it alone. Not for any injury this major. It requires your faith and your strength; without those two things the Machine God cannot help you." Tech-Priest straightened. "So I ask you this Master John Henry Irons, will you take an oath?"

"I…I…" The boy looked uncomfortable, but his response was not a 'no'.

Tech-Priest took a breath and repeated the same words that were made to him when he first became an adept of the Cult Mechanicus at the ripe age of five.

" _Do you John Henry Irons swear, to embrace and worship only the Machine God and its true representative the Omnissiah at the expense of all other faiths, to dedicate your life to the Quest for Knowledge, to love the machine and the Machine Spirits that dwell within and guard their secrets from any and all who may try to seize it?"_

"I…..I…"

"Be careful, Master Irons." Tech-Priest warned. "This oath is not one that should be made lightly. If you break it, there will be consequences."

"I…I…w-will." The boy huffed.

Tech-Priest glanced to the servo-skull on his left, and a small smile graced his lips. "The oath has been made."

 _= The Oath has been made =_

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

 _Get the equipment._

 _= KA63 retrieving equipment =_

The servo-skull whizzed out the open door to the car which contained a series of equipment that Cardsharp has been saving that day.

Tech-Priest turned to Sarah Irons. "Do you have a large bench?"

"We…we have a dining table?"

"Perfect." Tech-Priest disrobed to reveal a horrid display of flesh and machine. The components that normally attached to his back were gone, exposing the spine that was latched with micro cabling and technology not seen. "Let us begin."

0o0o0o

The sun was beginning to set as Henry Simon Irons drove his tired Corolla back to the family home. Sure enough the family was already there before him, Uncle Donald's Isuzu truck, to cousin Claire's Toyota. But there was one car that stood out.

A rusty looking Ford Pinto covered head to toe in paper that looked like it was scribbled by a mad-man. _What the hell…?_

"Honey," Henry strolled into the house, "what the hell kind of car is that out front?"

The entire family turned to face him, their eyes as wide as the smiles on their face. At the centre of their attention, was a pale dishevelled looking boy of around fifteen, a red robe draping his form.

"You…" Henry glared. "You dare entire my house?! Theresa, get my shotgun!"

"Dad…"

Henry partially froze and his eyes locked onto the source.

It was his son; John Henry Irons.

There was evidence of fresh scar running along the top of the boys head, but that was completely lost on the senior Irons. For his son was walking; a wheelchair was nowhere to be found.

Instead John Irons stood on two strong legs, a large strange device attached to his right hip, it was about half the size of a gallon of water. It was a conglomerate of steel, wiring and clockwork mechanics. It hummed with a certain energy. At the top of the device was a strange twist valve, and cable that ended in a power outlet.

Two types of cables came out of the device; one was a large thick black cable that entered through the skin near John's kidneys, and the other was a series of then three cables that ran along his spine.

"Hi dad," the boy waved in excitement, "can you see this? I can walk now?!"

Henry Simon Irons was at a loss for words. "…how…"

A hug from his teary wife sort of brought him back to reality. "Tech-Priest helped him. I can't believe it." Henry did not seem to care as he saw his son jump as high in the air as he could, enjoying the freedom he lost so long ago.

"I think it is time I went on my way." Tech-Priest stood up, a certain weakness in his stature. As Tech-Priest had very little to work with, he had to resort to using his own cybernetics to substitute missing equipment. It was painful and unpleasant, and he felt around ten kilograms lighter, but his task was completed.

Sarah cried out "No! No! Please stay, this warrants a feast. Stay for dinner, it's the least we could do."

"I should be going. The Manufactorum needs me." Tech-Priest sidestepped the offer, focusing on the young boy who was hopping up and down. "Master Irons, do you remember the litany? Recite it for me now."

"I wrote it down." Sarah smiled.

"Writing it down is not enough." Tech-Priest continue to stare at the young Irons. "Repeat the litany."

John Henry Irons took a deep breath and began.

" _Every third day at the nineteenth bell;_

 _Perform the steps of three;_

 _Wind up the clock a tick over four;_

 _Reward the stabiliser with electricity;_

 _Keep it charged until it can drink no more;_

 _Serve the Machine Spirt as it serves me."_

"Good." The red-robed adept smiled as he donned his hood once more, obscuring his face in shadow, slowly shambling forward to face Henry Simon Irons. "I believe we had a deal, Mister Irons."

Henry slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a rather chunky set of keys, each one granted access to every scrapyard owned by the Irons Steel Management company. He held it in mid-air not caring particularly who took it or whether it dropped on the floor. "….take it."

"Thank you." Tech-Priest gratefully accepted it. "Now about the mechandrite that your son is using, it is external to allow him to grow. Once he has reached his optimum growth he can then be….provided with….you're not listening are you?"

Henry Irons moved almost hypnotically to his son, picking him up under the child's arms and held him in a bear like hug.

 _I thought not._ Tech-Priest began to move out.

"Thank you!" The boy called out.

"Do not thank me Master Irons." The red-robed paused at the doorframe. "Remember where your gratitude should lie."

"Right. Sorry." The boy smiled. "Glory to the Omnissiah."

"Glory to the Omnissiah." The adept left without another word, the keys gripped tightly in his hand.

The Manufactorum _Filus Detroitus_ is back in business.

0o0o0o

A very Tech-Priest eccentric chapter. More like this will show up soon. We are now somewhere in the ball part of mind January 2010.

Hope you guys enjoyed it.

Review and PM as always.


	14. Chapter 14

Hey Guys.

Another chapter for the Omnissiah.

For the sake of this chapter, you might want to look up a band called Heavy Metal Kids and their song Adeptus Mechanicus. I'm sure you can find it on YouTube; check it out. Trust me, it makes sense when you read this.

Thanks to Jonas Copperwire and Mark Twain II LOL for their help in this matter.

Chapter 14

Cardsharp had never been more relieved nor had he been more excited.

Not that anyone would have noticed. For almost a fortnight, no one at the Manufactorum saw hide or hair of him. Supplies kept rolling in, and those creepy looking Labour Droids were darting around the place, but Tech-Priest was nowhere to be found.

All they could see was a large dump truck coming in every evening around 6:00pm rolling into one of the vacant shells, something that sounded like a tonne of metal crashing onto the floor and several hours of what can only be described as 'sifting', 'crafting' and 'welding'.

The great big dump truck with the initials 'ISM' on the side disappeared at the crack of dawn before most people were awake.

More Labour Droids showed up. There were now fifty of the weird spider like robots darting around the Manufactorum.

And those creepy slithering robots with lots of sharp pointy things that the Tech-Priest called 'security'; they tripled in number to six.

No one knew what was going on. No one wanted to know. No one dared to find out not even the troublemakers in Shell E. Rule Three was still in effect.

It was only in early February 2010 when someone dared to interrupt the red-robed cyborg.

0o0o0o

It was early afternoon when someone Shell M's radio went off.

" _Uhhh…excuse me…TP?"_ The terminal echoed.

Cardsharp who was busy fusing the couplings of one of his pride achievements paused in annoyance, but also surprise.

Cardsharp was annoyed because he was called TP; pronounced 'tee-pee'. The guests of the Manufactorum recently took it upon themselves to bequeath him a nickname. Spit in a drunk stupor on New Year's Eve called him TP and it stuck ever since. It was never meant to be disrespectful, merely a term of endearment. It was irritating nonetheless, but it never bothered Tech-Priest enough to correct them.

Cardsharp was surprised for another reason. Dobbs became the de facto 'designated user' of the comms; whoever was on the line was _not_ him. "Yes. Who is this?"

" _It's me...uh….Spit."_ The voice replied.

"How can I help you Mister Spit?" Tech-Priest prodded.

" _Well…uh….you see…ummm…"_

"Mister Spit," Cardsharp sniped, "I am very busy right now. I do not appreciate being interrupted. Now what do you want?"

The line went quiet and Cardsharp thought he disconnected. Only for Spit to burst out his explanation. _"The police are here."_

"Police?" Cardsharp's servo-mechandrite twitched bending the metal it held.

The voice leapt at the opportunity. _"Yeah, they're here in the Manufactorum. They seem royally pissed about something. They want to talk to you right now."_

"In the Manufactorum?" Cardsharp's eye widened. "Where? Have they accessed restricted areas?"

" _N-no. They're at entrance B-2. Dobbs is buying time, but he can't stall them forever."_ Spit sounded nervous. _"We really need you here, right now."_

"I'm on my way Mister Spit." Cardsharp detached his servo-arm and his ballistic mechandrites. In accordance with Justice League – UN Charter, Tech-Priest must oblige all law enforcement representatives.

Besides, if they were police he did not want to provoke them. The internet was a sick place but it held a wealth of information; including the well-above-average police shootings statistics the USA experienced. Cardsharp had no intention of being anyone's statistic.

0o0o0o

The Manufactorum _Filus Detroitus_ was initially open ground, with no form of boundary line. But over the months, the Labour Droids worked tirelessly in remedying that. There was now a solid steel wall over three meters in height with barbed wire on top encompassing the entire Manufactorum. The entrances and exits were limited, all of them heavily reinforced.

The police clearly expected a cake walk, not a rudimentary fortress.

So perhaps out of necessity or irritation they decided to bang on the front door…or to be more precise a metal gate identified as 'B-2', which was right out front of Shell E.

"Officer, I'm sorry," Dobbs tried to remain calm as he peeked out through a rectangle shaped hole in the metal gate, "but it is best that you wait for the guy in charge."

The uniformed official, who looked slightly out of place with the tactical body armour did not look impressed. "Yeah. 'Justice League'. I'm sure."

"It's true," Dobbs tried to reason, "we can't let you in because this is not our place."

"Listen buddy, I have a warrant for search and seizure. You have ten seconds to let us in before _these_ guys," he gestured to a group of ten police wielding very unpleasant looking weapons, "come in."

"You will do no such thing." Dobbs turned to face the red-robed adept walking towards them.

"TP?" Dobbs asked uncertain. It looked like the adept they knew, but he was different; thinner, less bulky, more humanoid in stature, like he lost a lot of weight. The hood still obscured his face, the red eye the only thing visible.

"Yes Mister Dobbs. It is me." Tech-Priest nodded curtly before turning to face the gate. "Open B-2. Let them in."

They complied, Clark pressed a button on the wall and the large metal gate slid to the side. The leader of the police squad was caught off guard as the gate opened. "Huh…you weren't kidding."

"I am Tech-Priest, Justice League affiliate." The hooded red-robed adept handed the badge to the police officer for inspection.

"Sergeant Joe Burns. Wayne State Police." The officer returned the badge which he deemed legitimate. His eyes turned to Clarke in surprise. "James Clark?"

"Hi Sergeant." Clark smiled weakly.

"Geez you look better than ever. Packing on a few pounds I see." Burns blinked in realisation. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I live here now." Clark smiled weakly.

"I was wondering why I have not seen you around." The sergeant seemed to soften, a small smile on his face.

"Not just me. So too does Spit and Annie." Clark pointed them out from the large collective of people gathering at the commotion.

"Wait, is this where _all_ of you have been?" The sergeant took the opportunity to look, _really_ look at the people gathering at the entrance. There was a recent drop of homeless people around Detroit, shamefully no one really cared to find out where they went. It seemed the police officer answered that riddle.

"Yeah." Clark gestured at the red-robed adept. "He took us in. He's been giving us food and shelter throughout winter."

"I…see." Burns took another look at Tech-Priest. "So what are you Tech-Priest, a charity or something?"

"A concerned citizen. Nothing more." Tech-Priest glanced at the small team who looked they were expecting a fight of some sort. "Why are you here in armed force, Sergeant Burns?"

The sergeant came to his senses and tried to tack on his 'business' face. "We have received reports of drugs and a recent string of break-ins at Wayne State University to _here_."

"That is impossible." Tech-Priest nearly laughed. "You have been provided faulty information."

"I have video evidence of people coming to and from River Rouge-"

" _Filus Detroitus._ " Tech-Priest blurted out.

"What?"

"This is not the Ford River Rouge Complex. That title was made defunct in November 2009." Tech-Priest clarified. "This the Manufactorum _Filus Detroitus_ , and my base of operations."

"Right…well, whatever you call this place," Sergeant Burns continued, "we have traced drugs, break-ins and a string of criminal activity to this location."

The adept shook is hooded head. "As I said, that is not possible."

Burns shifted uncomfortably. "Do you know of a man called Jacob Marlow?"

 _= Status: Searching databased 'Jacob Marlow' =_

 _= Result: Jacob Marlow – resident of Shell E of Manufactorum Filus Detroitus. Drug addict =_

"Yes." Tech-Priest confirmed, his faith uncertain. "He is a guest at this facility."

"Well his fingerprints were found all over the place at the break in one of the class dormitories and in the College of Nursing." Burns reached for his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "I also have a list of other suspects."

The sergeant was surprised at the blinding speed the paper was snatched out of his hand. The Tech-Priest definitely took it, but he was concerned as to how; from his eye it looked like a _metal snake_ slithered out of the red robes and grabbed it.

The Tech-Priest huddled over the piece of paper, scanning the list and comparing them to the database.

"We have reports of theft, break-ins and random acts of violence. All of them have been traced back here." Burns continued. "Do you know them?"

There were over forty names. Every one of them checked out, every one of them was a resident of Shell E.

"I do." The Tech-Priest's voice sounded sketchy and rough, as if a lawn mower engine was starting up.

"Well unfortunately Tech-Priest, I have been tasked with arresting them." Burns straightened, "I need to search the premises." The sergeant handed the cyborg an official looking piece of paper titled 'Search Warrant'.

"I didn't know." Tech-Priest offered up

"That maybe so," Burns seemed unaffected, "but it's part of my job. I am going to have to investigate the entire facility."

Tech-Priest would happily grant them access; he would personally throw out all the occupants of Shell E…but access to _**all** _ of the Manufactorum... _The entire facility?….my work…._

 _= CRITICAL PRIORITY 1A-B: Preserve the secrets of the Adeptus Mechanicus. All other priorities rescinded =_

"I can bring them out to you." Tech-Priest hoped.

"No. We need to secure evidence." Burns shook his head. "I need to search the entire premises. Right now."

"I can't let you do that." Tech-Priest stood firm. "My work is highly secret, I cannot grant you access to the entire Manufactorum."

"You don't have a choice." Burns tapped the cuffs on his belt. "You have been helping the homeless, including Clark. I respect that; but I have rules to follow. Step aside Tech-Priest or I will have to charge you with obstruction of justice."

 _Think….think…._

 _=Status: Searching database =_

A result popped into his mind; it was perfect.

"Under the Justice League – United Nations Charter, as a Justice League affiliate, I have the ability to declare an issue a matter of League business or investigation." Tech-Priest ran through the rules in his mind. "I do so now."

"Bullshit." Burns bawked in disbelief. "You can't do that."

"The case of the _State of California v. Justice League (Green Arrow)_ of the Ninth Federal Circuit Court." Tech-Priest lectured. "A Justice League member or such person as deputised by the Justice League may commandeer certain law enforcement investigations."

"I don't think that applies in instances where the crimes are sourced to Justice League property." Burns laughed in disbelief. "You guys are already in deep trouble over Roanoke, and now over Batman's little stunt. Do you think that you are going to get away with taking over an investigation that involves _investigating you_?

"I have already stated I did not know of these events." Tech-Priest countered. "I hereby claim jurisdiction on the grounds of public endangerment."

"Public endangerment?" Burns scoffed. "Endangerment to who?"

 _= CRITICAL PRIORITY 1A-B: Preserve the secrets of the Adeptus Mechanicus. All other priorities rescinded =_

 _Endangerment to you if you try and enter these premises,_ Tech-Priest dreaded. Cardsharp was bound by the Treaty of the Bat Cave; but the cyborg had a higher and more divine duty to the Adeptus Mechanicus and the oath he took to don the holy red robes of the Cult Mechanicus.

"Burns, you know me." Clark finally stepped forward. "I am confident that every single person here can testify to TP's…I mean Tech-Priest's character. He may not be a hero in the traditional sense, but he helped us when no one else would. That has to be worth _something_."

Burns gazed at Clark through the eyes of his peripheral, silence filled the air.

"Alright." The sergeant licked his lips. "Alright, I'll play you're game for now. We'll cede the investigation to you."

Tech-Priest fought the urge to sigh in relief. "Thank you Sergeant Burns, you won't regret-"

"But if anything happens. Any further crimes..." The officer interrupted. "Anything at all. I will have you charged with _aiding and abetting_ , and as an _accessory after the fact_. I don't know if you realised, but you Justice League are not as popular anymore. Next time, I'll show up with a warrant of arrest from the Michigan Supreme Court."

"I assure you." Cardsharp sweated. "I will resolve this issue _very_ soon."

"Do not make me regret this." Burns glanced at Clark before walking back to his unit.

Clark pressed another button and the gate began to slide back closed clicking back into place. The small crowd of people frowned in concern; what was happening, would they have to leave, are they in trouble?

All of them good questions. None of them dared voice them.

It probably had to do with the murderous air surrounding the 'manager' of the Manufactorum. Tech-Priest stood there, crushed paper in his cybernetic hands which had curled into fists, the sound of computer chips and fans humming like a swarm of angry wasps.

"Thank you Mister Clark." Tech-Priest spoke, his voice heavily distorted. "For your vote of confidence."

"It's…It's okay, TP." Clark tried to smile, but he along with everyone else could sense the adept's foul mood.

"Did you know about the conduct of what was happening in Shell E?" Tech-Priest levelled a stare at his guests.

"What? No!" Dobbs looked horrified. "We would have told you!"

 _= Status: Analysing statement. Running scans on 143 individuals =_

 _= Result: All elevations normal. Conclusion: Collective 23.6% chance of Deceptive Statement =_

Cardsharp did not like that number; that was a one-in-five odds, or at least an indication that some of them suspected. At least it ruled out actual knowledge. "Very well."

"We could…ask them to leave." Clark offered. "Tell them to pack their bags and get out. We can help."

"I have already given my word that I would look into this Mister Clark." Tech-Priest growled. "I will do just that... _Personally_."

"Uhhh…..What do you want us to do then?" Dobbs asked.

"You will all resume your business." Tech-Priest did not so much walk, as stomp off; leaving the nervous and stunned guests of Shell D and Shell F to go about their daily lives.

0o0o0o

That was it.

That was the last _**fucking**_ straw.

Cardsharp had tried to help as best he could, he tried to offer them a way to live, but there was no helping some people.

The Tech-Priest was so obsessed with his construction, his projects and his need for resources he broke the cardinal rule; he left his house out of order. Not just a home, a holy Manufactorum; a chapel to the Machine God.

Cardsharp was so _stupid_ as to let those ungrateful, conniving, sick, degenerate junkies to besmirch the name _Filus Detroitus_. Master Kyriz would have flogged him for such a horrible oversight and rightly so; it was conduct unworthy of an adept of the Cult Mechanicus.

Amends must be _made._

Discipline will be _enforced._

The occupants of Shell E will be _educated_ on the finer points of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

And it will be done _tonight_.

0o0o0o

Logic would dictate that Shell E would be in between Shell D and Shell F. That was not the case.

Shell D and Shell F were located at the corner of Rotunda Drive and Miller Road reformed out of the remnants of the Dearborn Truck Plant Assembly.

Shell E was located closer to the River Rouge built out of the hospital that was built on the premises in the event of an industrial accident.

Inside Shell E were many sick people. Drug addicts, the mentally ill or those who just flat out refused help. The residents of Shell E were running amok. There were fights and there were drugs and people running around babbling about things that only they can see. The entire place smelt awful. There were many attempts to integrate them into the little 'community' that was set up in the Manufactorum. They all failed.

Tech-Priest had to settle for leaving them to change at their own pace, provided of course they did not cause problems.

But that ended on one cold night in early February 2010.

Tech-Priest entered Shell E, Tongue and Pardon flanking either side. All the inhabitants of Shell E gathered around him, they were explicitly told an important announcement was to be made. The adept was greeted by the de facto 'representative' Jacob Marlow.

"Well Tech-Priest, to what do we owe the pleasure?" He smiled.

"I had an unexpected visit from the police today." Tech-Priest replied, his voice bland and monotone.

"Oh?" Marlow kept his eyes even and steady. "What did they want?"

"They have traced criminal activity here, including drugs, thievery, and breaking and entering." Cardsharp explained. "Specifically to a majority of the residents of Shell E."

"Here?" Marlow tried to smooth things out. "Impossible man, you know we run a tight ship. You know you can't trust those fuckin' pigs."

"Their evidence is quite convincing." Tech-Priest gazed at the small sea of people with worried expressions on their face. "I am truly disgusted with all of you."

"Look man," Marlow frowned, "it's not easy on us. The street is unforgiving. You expect us to outgrow all the shit we had to deal with? We need more time."

"And I would have given it." Cardsharp did not sound remotely sympathetic. "But unfortunately you have forced my hand."

Thoughts of being forced to leave the comforts of Shell E made Marlow flinch in horror. "Over this?! Come on man! We can change, just give us another chance!"

"Another chance? You have conducted illegal activity on Manufactorum grounds which has interfered with my work. An innocent party would have informed me of such activity." The hooded adept's voice erupted into static. "You broke Rule One and Rule Two of the Manufactorum, Mister Marlow. You _had_ your chance."

There was an eerie silence that hung over them. An unknowledgeable person would have been worried to have broken such unpleasant news whilst being surrounded by people who were considered unstable at best.

"Fortunately," Tech-Priest spoke again, "I am sympathetic to your plight; you have all suffered. Your existence is without meaning, purpose or direction. Be thankful that I can provide all three for you."

"What does that mean?"

Cardsharp burst into a series of garbled beeping sounds.

At that very instant, almost two dozen of the spider Labour Droids burst through the windows. Their large metal arms slamming against the occupants in Shell E.

Their attacks were too quick to be dodged, and Shell E was so far out, their cries for help could not be heard.

0o0o0o

Jacob Marlow was praying to whatever God would listen. He never really lost consciousness, but he was in too much pain to actually try and escape.

He could not quite pinpoint where he was, if he had to guess it was the old fabrication plant for the car chassis, also known as Shell Q. There was a lot of activity around that area for the past two weeks. Marlow and the rest of Shell E could not care less, as long as the food kept coming and the shelter kept getting provided. In fact it was to his benefit; the busier the Tech-Priest was, the less attention he paid to them. Which left room to do what they wanted…what they _needed._

It seemed that was no longer the case.

It was only when he found himself strapped to a metal gurney did he realise just how much trouble he was in. "Okay man, good joke. You got me, I get the message. I won't break into anything ever again." The top of his head was cold, as if his hair was shaved off, he could feel sharp spiky pieces of metal scrape across the top of his forehead.

"No." The Tech-Priest glanced at the cowering man. "The matter is decided, you will undergo re-education."

Marlow had no idea what that meant, but he did not want to find out. "Hey man, this is not funny!"

"This is not an attempt at humour." Tech-Priest fiddled with something next to Marlow's head. What precisely Marlow could not say, but all he knew was that his head was starting to feel numb.

"I swear man, I will change. I'll start fresh I promise." Marlow nearly cried.

"You have had several chances." Tech-Priest replied with metallic coldness, the sounds of snipping and cutting radiating in Marlow's ears. "You cannot repair yourself. I thought you would….I prayed you would. But you can't. Fortunately, the Adeptus Mechanicus can."

"What are you going to do?!"

"I'm going to give you a purpose." Tech-Priest clicked on a series of computers keys. "Don't be afraid Mister Marlow. I am going to help."

"How?!" Marlow struggled to get out of the gurney, but the straps were on far too tight. "How is this going to help me?!"

"I know how lost you are Mister Marlow." Tech-Priest finally deigned to look at the cowering man. "The crimes, although victimless, are committed because you cannot help yourself, because it is the only life you have ever known. I am certain there is a good soul inside you Mister Marlow, just as I am sure that there is one in all the guests of Shell E. It just needs a helping hand; you will live with honour. I promise.""

That did not sound good at all to Marlow. "WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?!"

"Relax Mister Marlow." Tech-Priest placed a cold metal hand on the terrified man's shoulder. "You will be fine."

Marlow wanted to scream and cry and curse.

However, he could not focus on his own predicament as he began to feel light-headed. A burning pain grew in the centre of his mind.

 _Oh god, please help me!_ Marlow we himself, as he could feel thoughts that were not his own enter his mind. Cold and unyielding he felt his mind become bombarded with information that was unknown to him.

 _= Status: Uploading_ _Adeptus Mechanicus Database v.0 084 999.M41 -_ Skitarii Protocols template =

 _= Reconditioning in progress =_

= _From the Weakness of the Mind, Omnissiah save us =_

 _WHAT?! What the fuck is that?! WHO IS DOING-_

 _= From the Lies of the Antipath, Circuit preserve us =_

 _JESUS CHRIST! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! GET -_

 _= From the Rage of the Beast, Iron protect us =_

 _Glory to- NO! What is happening?! What is happening?_

 _= From the Temptations of the Flashlord, Silica cleanse us =_

 _NO! No…NO! GET OUT OF ME HEAD! GET OUT OF MY -_

 _= From the Ravages of the Destroyer, Anima shield us =_

 _Glory to the – FUCK! I REFUSE! Glory to…What? No…_

 _= From this rotting cage of biomatter, Machine God set us free =_

 _No…_

 _= There is no truth in flesh, only betrayal =_

… _..Glory…._

 _= There is no strength in flesh, only weakness =_

 _Glory…..glory….to the Omnissiah._

 _= There is no constancy in flesh, only decay =_

 _Glory to the Omnissiah! Glory to the Omnissiah!_

 _= There is no certainty in flesh, but death =_

 _GLORY TO THE OMNISSIAH! GLORY TO THE OMNISSIAH! GLORY TO THE OMNISSIAH!_

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

 _= Status: Uploading_ _Adeptus Mechanicus Database v.0 084 999.M41 -_ Skitarii Protocols template =

 _= Reconditioning in progress =_

 _= Bypassing Neural Relays. Accessing frontal lobe cortex =_

 _GLORY TO THE OMNISSIAH! GLORY TO THE OMNISSIAH!_

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

 _GLORY TO THE OMNISSIAH!_

 _= Glory to the Omnissiah =_

 _= Status: Uploading_ _Adeptus Mechanicus Database v.0 084 999.M41 -_ Skitarii Protocols template =

 _= Reconditioning in progress =_

0o0o0o

Days passed, and things went quite well. The quality of life in the Manufactorum seemed to improve. Many people in Shell D and Shell F always were concerned about those in Shell E; they caused trouble, they stole things…

But recently they have not had any problems. Nothing was stolen, nothing was missing, there were none of them streaking around naked screaming about being abducted by aliens. It was peaceful. Even Sergeant Burns returned to say thank you for taking care of the issue and getting those poor saps in Shell E to fall in line.

Yet no one could recall seeing or hearing any of the disturbed inhabitants of Shell E.

In their place were these strange looking robots.

They did not look like the Labour Droids of old. They looked convincingly human.

They looked very much like Tech-Priest, they walked on two metal legs and they were draped in large red robes.

Atop their robes were large metal pauldrons and plate armour. The head a mere faceplate with glowing blue optics. A large metal backpack which carried a radio, and various unknown technologies. In their metal hands was a large weapon that could only be described as an intimidating yet beautiful flintlock rifle; the bodywork was that of an antique, with a polished wooden stock and curlicues.

They looked identical in appearance, their only distinguishing feature was a number draped at the corner of their robe; '01', '02', '03' and so on.

They were called Skitarii (pronounced 'ski-tar-ih-ee') Rangers. Specialised 'robots' that could provide adequate security for the Manufactorum and they patrolled _Filus Detroitus_ endlessly.

Life certainly improved, so much so that hardly anyone ever thought where those sick people in Shell E went.

Those that did wonder were wise enough not to ask.

0o0o0o

The Adeputs Mechanicus reveals its darker side.

One problem down. Many more to go.

Hope you enjoyed it fellas.

Review and PM as always.

BadPanda out.


	15. Chapter 15

Hey fellas,

Sorry I have been dark for the past few weeks. I have moved interstate and started a new job (on top of studying) so life is busy.

Also thanks to whomever gave me a mention in the Death Korps of Justice Trivia page on Tv Tropes. I greatly appreciate your support.

 **This chapter is going to get real dark. Ye be warned.**

Chapter 15

It was approaching 11:30pm one night in mid-February 2010, Tech-Priest grimly gazed at the full moon above. This has been a night he was simultaneously looking forward to and dreading.

The first official operation of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

The mission: Shutdown the darknet market known as Wonderland.

Cardsharp had covertly located this 'Mad Hatter' over a month ago, along with several of its affiliates. All of them located in Detroit area.

Logic would dictate that you refer it to the local police for enforcement, but it was then Cardsharp ran into the intricacies of the law. It appeared that information obtained by a 'hero' was inadmissible for the purposes of obtaining a warrant as it 'violated rights'. The Tech-Priest could not help but chuckle thinking about what a member of the Adeptus Arbites would do if he heard that.

Thus if a hero discovers activity, he or she must bring them in under a principle of 'citizen's arrest'. Tech-Priest would have acted then, but Tech-Priest did not have the resources. Fighting was not his primary speciality and other duties required his immediate attention. But that was then.

This is now.

Tech-Priest chose to personally take charge of the assault on 'Mad-Hatter'. Cardsharp attached third ballistic mechandrite near the base end of his spine, and his traditional 'bulk' returned in the form of heavy armour protruding out of his holy red robes.

But he was not alone; a ten-man squads of Skitarii Rangers were with him. Heavily armoured and heavily armed. A Skitarii Ranger template demanded they be armed with the ever feared Mark IV Arkhan Galvanic Rifle. But the Galvanic Rifle is a weapon meant to kill…and the Treaty of the Bat-Cave was still in effect.

Thus the Tech-Priest improvised the traditional Mark IV by modifying the galvanic projectiles as a secondary attachment. The primary ammunition being specialised a conducted electrical weapon; a Taser rifle. It would not kill someone (unless they had an undiagnosed heart condition), but it would hurt. A lot.

The 'Mad Hatter' was traced to the Royal Oak area just opposite the Detroit Zoo.

His two other affiliates were located in Hamtrack, disturbingly they were located near a school. They were to be assault simultaneously by two five-man squads.

 _++ Alright, 01 take your team to the front door and prepare to breach ++_ Tech-Priest communicated. _++ 11 and 16 take your positions, we shall strike simultaneously ++_

Each 'leader' replied in their own way.

 _ **++ Team 1: Roger, roger ++**_

 _ **++ Team 2: Can do ++**_

 _ **++ Team 3: Getting ready ++**_

Tech-Priest peered around the corner to see his squad quickly make their way to the front of the target's house, standard single file formation. A live feed from teams two and three showed similar movements. _++ Now, we have to approach with tact. I want a stealthy approach, who knows what armaments they have. I want it quiet until we have them ++_

 _ **++ Team 2: Nuance, got it ++**_

 _ **++ Team 1: Roger super stealthy ++**_

 _ **++ Team 3: Subtle as a fucking phantom sir ++**_

Tech-Priest's fourth mechanical circuit glitched, he was not entirely confident about that. While the previous occupants of Shell E were indeed modified, they retained most of their memories and there was still some remanent of their personality. But they have come too far to turn back now.

 _++ Breach ++_

Instead of doing something like picking the lock or crawling through a window, all three teams simultaneously kicked in the door with the force and grace of a runaway train, firing their electric charges wildly and screaming curses at the top of their mechanical voices.

" _ **HERETEKS SHALL BE RENDERED UNTO SCRAP CODE!"**_

" _ **ALL HAIL THE OMNISSIAH!"**_

" _ **THE MACHINE GOD DEMANDS YOUR DESTRUCTION!"**_

 _Subtly right,_ Tech-Priest smacked a mechanical hand against his head. _Mental Note: fine tune Skitarii Protocols with Special Weapon and Tactics procedures._

 _= Note recorded: reminder shall be issued in 14 hours =_

Cardsharp listened to the sounds of rapid discharges of firearms and the sounds of a trip mine detonating. But in a few seconds all reports came in.

 _ **++ Team Two Report: No injuries. Target secured and crying like a little bitch ++**_

 _ **++ Team One Report: Three Injured, no casualties. Target secured and getting curb-stomped for planting a bouncing betty by the door ++**_

 _ **++Team Three Report: One injured, no casualties. Target secured with part of my foot lodged up his ass. Proctologist may be required ++**_

Tech-Priest heaved a heavy sigh as the neighbours lights were starting to flick on because of the commotion. The same was presumably happening in Hamtrack. But not bad for a first mission. Not bad at all. _++ Secure the Area. I am approaching target one ++_

0o0o0o

Gotham changed since late December 2009, for both good and bad.

Best part; no more Joker. That alone made the city known for gothic architecture and perpetual rain that much brighter. People were actually starting to come out of their homes again. A nightlife began to develop for the first time in nearly a decade.

The good news made criminals more wary, they went deep underground; it minimised the collateral damage they inevitably caused. But it also made them harder to find.

Bad part, Joker's death caused a bit of stir with Batman's rogue gallery in Arkham Asylum. A power vacuum if you will. Joker was number one on Batman's shitlist. Now that he was gone, who was next? If the Dark Knight had truly gone off the deep end; which one of the demented and the sick would warrant Batman's new 'personal touch'?

The worst part. Batman himself was gone. Just gone. He did not answer to the Bat-Signal. Even Robin was absent. There were rumours of a Bat-person running around but it was that of a woman. But they could not be relied upon. The Batman has decided to renege on an old set of principles that scared criminals properly for the first time in a long time. But if he was not there to enforce it, who knows what will happen.

0o0o0o

 _= Status: Identifying Suspects =_

 _= Result:_ _Jervis Tetch aka 'Mad Hatter'._ _Dumfree Tweed aka 'Tweedledum'. Deever Tweed aka 'Tweedledee'=_

Cardsharp blinked several times. They were 'villains' commonly associated with the Batman. They were a long way from Gotham. Records indicated they broke out of Arkham Asylum in October 2008 and were not seen since.

The diminutive Jervis Tetch lay on the floor bleeding, a massive metal boot print on the side of his face, muttering quietly to himself. "Alice…my Alice…where is my Alice?..."

 _Guess we now know where they have been._ Cardsharp glanced around the house, it was cluttered with junk. It appeared however that Tetch's genius extended beyond technological and chemical 'mind control' devices, but also to computers and programming. There was some advanced cogitators, all of it custom built.

 _++ 04, 06, 07 requisition as much of the equipment as you can. Ensure the evidence is maintained for trial. In addition check the notes on Mister Tetch's inventions. The rest of you continue searching the premises++_ Cardsharp was quite pleased, not only had they broken the Mad Hatter's darknet they did it with minimal damage and with an orgy of evidence.

Tech-Priest turned to the small criminal. "Mister Tetch, you are under arrest for child pornography and the sale of illegal goods."

"No…Not me…Don't take my Alice away from me." The man pleaded. Cardsharp ignored his ramblings, according the Batman's records; 'Alice' was one of many delusions that the Mad Hatter suffered.

 _ **++ Holy Sweet Omnissiah on a cracker ++**_ Skitarii 03 broadcasted, horror plain in his mechanical voice.

Cardsharp automatically tapped into 03's visual feed, he was in the basement and what he saw…

 _What in the name of the Omnissiah?_

There were children, a mixture of boys and girls various ages from eight to fifteen. Twenty-two in total. They were all dressed in blue dresses and blonde wigs. Their faces were familiar, most of them were the ones that appeared in the videos and photos that were bought and sold in Wonderland. All of them were screaming and clawing away from the Skitarii soldier, who to them probably looked like a blue-eyed demon, their eyes crazed in fear.

 _++ T…Try…try to comfort them ++_ Tech-Priest paled.

" _ **It's okay, it's okay…"**_ Skitarii 03 took of his mask to reveal his sunken but still human face _ **. "Hey kids, don't worry. I'm…we're here to help…just try to stay calm."**_

The children would not stop screaming. They were almost feral in their actions.

 _By the Machine God…._ Cardsharp glared at the cowering man sick man below him. Tetch was begging him not to take his 'Alices' away.

 _ **++ Sir, 13 reporting. We have found some children in the basement here. I count eight ++**_

Cardsharp all of sudden felt himself feel very 'light-headed' which was strange considering his brain was not in his head. _++ 16, can you check the basement? ++_

 _ **++ Already on it….holy fuck…..++**_

 _++ What is it? 16 report ++_

Skitarii 16 transmitted, his voice sickened and shaken _**++ Confirmed sir, there are children here. I count twelve ++**_

 _ **++ Sir, I have checked the logs ++**_ 06 beeped typing quickly on one of the nearby computers. _**++ There is a lot more going on here. There is another darknet market ++**_

 _Another…?_

 _ **++ It's called 'Looking-Glass ++**_ 06 gazed in horror. _**++ It's not child pornography…it's…++**_

Tech-Priest pushed 06 aside and accessed the computer, and gazed in horror as he saw 'Looking-Glass'; a darknet market so low not even he found it.

One of the children in the cellar was labelled 'Item 430'. The price tag was $500,000. Many of the other children were there with various 'price-tags', some lower…some higher.

But there was more.

Videos.

Videos of children that have been missing for months. Children never seen again.

Videos of children screaming.

Videos of children crying.

…

…

…

Videos of children dying.

 _= Error =_

Cardsharp's form stilled. The only motion was that of his hand reaching for the computer and yanking out the power cord.

The whole room went still, the only sound was the rhythmic humming of dozens of cyborgs. The cowering form of Tetch froze as he could feel mechanical eyes glaring at his form.

Tech-Priest remained immobile, glancing at the Mad Hatter through a dozen optics connected to his spine.

 _++ 01….call the police ++_

0o0o0o

Dick Grayson was no stranger to moving to different parts of the world. The Grayson's tenure with the Haly's International Travelling Circus gave Dick a unique insight to the world.

But he still hated having to leave Gotham City. After what happened in Amusement Mile, Alfred thought it would be safe if Dick relocated. Somewhere far away

Thus did Robin find himself in Star City, assigned under Green Arrow. At least normally he would, though like Batman, Green Arrow was not really in a 'patrolling' mood. So Robin spent most nights patrolling Star City with the archer's apprentice; Speedy.

"So Green Arrow and Black Canary huh?" Robin raised a brow, both he and his fellow 'sidekick' stood on the top of the Queen Industries building.

"Yeah, going on about a month now." Speedy surveyed the city below them.

"So are they really official?"

"I'm not exactly sure." Red Arrow frowned. "More like…co-dependants. Like confidants…He hasn't been the same since…y'know…"

"Yeah, Roanoke." Robin frowned.

"Sorry about that." Speedy realised. "I know things have been-"

"It's fine." Robin frowned gesturing to a group of people around the block that looked like they were about to rob a bank. "Believe me, I know full well about Roanoke."

"Half the League is gone and half the League is having what can only be described as a mid-life crisis." Speedy readied the arrow. "Shall we?"

"Yeah." Robin leapt off the building, batarang at the ready.

"Hey Robin," Speedy asked as they descended, "have you ever considered going solo?"

0o0o0o

The police could not arrive faster.

The Detroit Police took the Hamtrack sites. Wayne State Police took Royal Oaks.

"I am sorry to say that we could not meet on better terms, Sergeant Burns." Tech-Priest broke the silence.

Sergeant Joe Burns was currently in the back of the house on his knees, vomiting. Who could blame him honestly? It was one thing to bust a child pornography ring. It was another thing to bust a paedophile, a murder and a human trafficking ring.

"Oh, god." Burns took a breath. "Oh, god why?"

"Regardless of faith, I doubt god had anything to do with this." Tech-Priest offered a hand, which the sergeant gratefully took.

"This freak has been setting up shop in our backyard for nearly two years, and we didn't fucking notice?!" Burns gazed at the ground. "This is a nightmare. I have a daughter, she's only nine."

"The nightmare that is over, Sergeant Burns." Tech-Priest replied.

"Are you nuts, Jervis Tetch is still missing?!" Burns blanched. "Who knows what that sick freak is up to?"

"My Skitarii forces are searching for him and his allies." Tech-Priest clarified. "I am sure he will be found in due course."

"To what end, Tech-Priest." Burns placed his hands on his hips, tilting his head low, resisting the urge to vomit again.

"What do you mean?" Tech-Priest tilted his head. "So he can stand trial for his crimes."

"Where do you think you are man?" Burns heaved. "The guy was declared insane, he is an escaped lunatic. He could have nuked an orphanage and it won't matter. They will just declare him _non compos mentis_ and throw him right back into Arkham. Him along with those Tweedle- _ **fucks**_."

"No trial?" Tech-Priest blurted in surprise, he could not believe what he was hearing. "He'd go back to Arkham?"

"Yeah, America's shittiest prison." Burns scoffed. "You know what they call Arkham in the rest of the world? 'The Old Revolving Door'. Because no matter how many times you throw them in, they just stroll back out….Oh, god…"

Tech-Priest took a half step back, avoiding the Sergeant vomiting on his robes. "Are you saying that what I found in this house and the others in Hamtrack mean nothing?"

"I'm afraid so." Burns wiped his hand with his sleeve. "God, what am I going to tell the families when we find him? 'Sorry but it's back to the asylum for him?' You know those kids are never going to recover from this, you know that right?"

"I do." Tech-Priest whispered.

"I have a girl, Tech-Priest." Burns sniffed, wiping tears away. "How am I going to look at her in the morning knowing that we found the guy and just let him go?"

Tech-Priest stared at the Sergeant, at a concerned citizen and a horrified parent. Cardsharp did not know what reassurance he could give him.

Except…

Perhaps…

"What if hypothetically, they were never found, Sergeant Burns?"

"Of course they will be found." Sergeant Burns waved a hand. "You said your boys were on him. Between you and the police, they'll be caught."

"Only to escape one way or another." Tech-Priest chose his words carefully. What if they were never officially caught?" The form of the police sergeant froze, and his eyes locked on to the red-robed adept. He looked uncomfortable but remained silent. Tech-Priest took this as an opportunity to continue. "Considering what you have told me, perhaps it would be best for all parties involved if Mister Tetch and Misters Tweed were to vanish. Never to be seen again, never to be heard from again. In theory, of course."

"I think I know where you are going with this Tech-Priest." Burns glared. "And I won't stand for it. I want those three monsters dead and much as the next man. But I am not an executioner."

"Neither am I. I am bound by the rules of the Justice League, which forbids me from killing." Cardsharp clarified. "But hypothetically, would it be better that they merely vanish to places unknown, instead of finding and sending them Arkham Asylum, the 'Old Revolving Door'?

"I could have you arrested for what you are saying." Burns glared. "Tell me, whatever happened to those trouble makers in your facility?"

"I told you I would revolve that issue. I did." Tech-Priest responded, his bionic hearts quickened.

"Where did they go? Should my men get another search warrant?" Burns placed his hands back on his hips, only this time one of his hands was dangerously close to his pistol.

"Sergeant Burns, you can do whatever you think is necessary. I cannot stop you." Tech-Priest emphasised. "But I am here to help the State of Michigan. You explained a problem, I am offering a hypothetical solution."

"A solution that is against the law. Against justice." Burns seethed.

"'Justice'? You call what is happening 'justice'?" Tech-Priest bawked. "You call catching three men, who have raped, murdered and sold children on the black market for profit, only for their crimes to be permanently set aside and sent back to an insane asylum with ineffective doctors, and incompetent security, 'justice'?"

Burns seemed surprised, never had he expected Tech-Priest to lose his cool.

"I maybe in the United State of America, but it is not where I am from Sergeant Burns. My home has a different idea of justice." Tech-Priest grew angry, his voice revving like a chainsaw. "Justice from where I am from means the inmates in Arkham Asylum would be shot on the spot. The ineffective doctors would be shot. The negligent nurses would be shot. The incompetent security personnel would be shot. The judges who passed sentence, the jury who made the verdict, the lawyers who convinced the jury, the bailiffs who organised the trial, the police officers who failed to catch them, even the mayor who presided over all of it; they would all be shot."

Burns, while taller than the red-robed adept felt decidedly small under the cyborgs red gaze.

"I am not talking about shooting anyone, Sergeant Burns, though I have a distinct feeling many would approve. Yourself included." Tech-Priest bit back, his mechandrites twitching wildly. "I am proposing a purely hypothetical alternative, where everyone wins; the victims get closure; a crime has been punished; the police can rest easy knowing their city is safe...and Mister Tetch and Misters Tweed can never hurt another soul ever again."

"But they live?"

"Absolutely." Tech-Priest nodded.

Burns and the Tech-Priest stared at each other for a while. Cardsharp began to think he just made a terrible mistake. "Theoretically," Burns licked his lips, "it makes perfect sense."

"Indeed." Cardsharp denied the urge to sigh in relief.

"I admit, it would be incredibly inconvenient _ **if**_ they were found." Burns groaned as he took his hands off his hips, and away from his pistol. "The legal system is not perfect, justice would be denied _**if**_ they were processed by it."

"No system is ever perfect Sergeant Burns." The red-robed adept agreed.

"Perhaps, and purely in the abstract..." Burns mused, "it would be preferable if they were never found."

"Conceivably, it would be." Tech-Priest concluded.

"Well then." Burns began to slowly turn and walk around the house, for he could not bare to go back in after what he saw. "Here's to hoping they are never found again."

"Here is to hoping." Tech-Priest turned to go back inside the house where unspeakable things took place.

0o0o0o

Knock, knock.

Impeccably dressed Alfred walked to do the main door of Wayne Manor and opened it. "Oh no."

"Hello, Alfred." Clark Kent smiled. "A rather warm night isn't it? It seems winter is over."

"No, please Master Clark." Alfred held the door firmly, attempting to bar the man entry. "No, he's not ready."

"I'm not here on League business." The reported held up his hands in surrender. "I am here as a friend."

"I thought the friendship was over." Alfred stared defiantly.

"The friendship is on the rocks. Not over Alfred." The spectacled hero smiled gently. "Besides, aren't we friends Alfred? When were you going to tell me that Bruce had a file containing my deepest and most private secrets?'

Alfred's eyes sank to the floor. His silence said it all.

"I would have come earlier." Clark sighed. "But…I was so _angry_ with him…and I have been dealing my own demons."

"Of course, I apologise Master Clark. Please come in." Alfred slowly opened the door allowing entry.

"So what is the situation?"

"He does not eat or sleep for days on end. He does not leave the Batcave. He does not talk to me." Alfred's shoulders sagged in defeat. "He just sits there, staring at the family portrait, and at the suit. I have tried to get through to him for months. Ever since Roanoke…"

"Perhaps he will open up to me." Kent sounded hopeful, trying to cover up the twitch in his eyes upon hearing of that cursed island.

"I don't know." Alfred swallowed. "Before I took up management of Wayne Manor, I undertook…numerous operations for Her Majesty's government. If I could pick Master Bruce's affliction it is post-traumatic stress. Perhaps the only one who can get through to him is one who shared in the experience."

"Perhaps…" Clark sounded hopeful, but his smile dampened slightly as he saw Alfred's grim frown emphasising the elderly man's doubts.

0o0o0o

For Jervis Tetch, heaven was being with Alice. When in Detroit, he found many people that could be his Alice; those he liked, he kept for himself. Those that failed were sent away.

The sick demented mind of the Mad Hatter never really comprehended what 'Hell' must be like. He was not even sure it existed. The closest thing to the 'H, E, double hockey sticks' was Arkham Asylum, where being denied his 'Alice' was a torment like no other.

Never had the great, yet monstrous Jervis Tetch been more wrong.

Hell did exist, and it had a name.

 _Servitude Imperpituis._

Tetch did not know the rules. He did not understand them. His new 'devil', the red-robed adept called 'Tech-Priest' did not care. He explained that what was about to happen was going to be painful beyond measure. But pain relief and morphine were reserved for heroes and the redeemable, like the noble Skitarii. The Mad Hatter, and the twins Tweedledee and Tweedledum, would not have such a privilege. Tetch's body seethed with chemicals, preventing him from passing out.

For Hell was a journey that was meant to be experienced with perfect clarity.

It all started with Phase 1: Amputation.

Hemicorporectomy; the removal of everything below the waste. It made sense, for Tetch was not going anywhere, ever again. The next was the arms, to be replaced with something better.

The next was his jaw, tongue and teeth. He was not going to be talking anytime soon. The sheer pain of the hemicorporectomy gave a serious case of lockjaw. But that was quickly solved with a hammer.

Craniotomy, the top of his skull was removed, exposing his brain to the elements. What happened after that was difficult to describe as Tech-Priest performed an enucleation; the removal of his eyes.

Then came Phase 2: Cybernetic Enhancement.

Tetch could not see, but he could still feel.

He could feel things, sharp cold metal things be inserted into his body. They hummed and twitched and delved. Already he could feel changes in his body, these cold metal things were not offering him death. They offered life. His heart beat stronger, his lungs breather deeper, and his liver worked harder. But it was more, he could feel metal things in his mind. But terror gripped poor Tetch as he realised that his mind was thinking faster. A second became a minute, a minute an hour, and the pain a lifetime.

It was only then did his sight return, glowing optics covering an entire spectrum previously unknown to him revealed the world with new horror. He felt attachments at his severed shoulders drill into place, new arms where there were bloody stumps. But they were mechanical in nature; cold and lifeless. Tetch was never to feel warmth, never to feel Alice again.

Then came the finale, Phase 3: Programming and Final Placement.

Tetch found himself bolted into a metal chair, wires and tubes sticking out of him and leading to who knows where. In front of him were sixteen computer screens, in a four by four formation. On the screens were data coming to and from the deepest parts of the internet.

The Tech-Priest told him that this was the part where they would be memory-wiped, but that was reserved for people with no worthwhile skills. Unfortunately for the Mad Hatter, he had skills. He knew the darknet; he knew the ins and outs of every dark corner of the internet. Jervis Tetch had programming skills which were capable of hiding and revealing things that not even the Tech-Priest could locate. Those skills would be put to good use, whether he liked it or not.

In the peripheral, he could see his long time companions; Tweedledee and Tweedledum on either side of him looking at their own set of computer screens. They underwent a similar surgery to him, and like him; they were unable to scream and longed for death. But in accordance with Revelations Chapter 9, Verse 6:

 _And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them._

His mind blinded by pain and agony, Tetch thought to soothe it with thoughts of Alice…dear sweet Alice. But those thoughts were snatched away. In their place came a cold directive:

Search the Internet for people like him.

Find them.

Bring them to Detroit.

Add them to the fold.

And so he did.

Against his will he found others like him, others hiding the darknet. Those who wished to indulge the appetites he provided. He used his skills which he accumulated over the years to sway them to Detroit, like moths to a flame. Like Tetch, they came to Detroit to have their desires fulfilled.

Like the Mad Hatter, they found themselves in a dark room, illuminated by countless computer screens. Like the Mad Hatter, they found themselves an unrecognisable shadow of their former selves, their psyches held together by unknown technology without which he would have snapped into catatonia and died long ago, bent of fulfilling a directive against their will.

Like the Mad Hatter, they regretted their sins. Before long, they regretted being ever born.

What was once three, became ten.

What was ten, became thirty.

What was left of the Mad Hatter and Tweedledee and Tweedledum were enshrouded in sorrow. But amongst the pain, madness and agony Jervis Tetch longed to scream out, there was an epiphany.

In the depths of hell there was a small consolation: misery loves company. The Mad Hatter was certain there were others who came to this realisation and felt the same way.

In early March 2010, poor Tetch glimpsed his fellow tortured souls numbering forty-two and counting. As death was denied to him, the Mad Hatter allowed the ancient proverb to alleviate the pain just enough before being forced to find number forty-three.

0o0o0o

And there we have if fellas.

Hope you like it. Like I said; dark.

TTFN!


	16. Chapter 16

Hey Fellas,

Sorry I have been off grid. Work and study have been tough.

Well! Over 500 reviews and over 500 favourites! Thanks so much for the support. Also I noticed someone put me in the fanfic recs for Young Justice tvtropes. Thanks for that.

Before we begin, I thought I should provide a bit of a guideline for the current layout of the Manufactorum _Filus Detroitus_ considering how big it has become:

Shell A – Tech-Priest Private Quarters

Shell B – Forge World Power Network

Shell C – Scrap Allocation Centre (ISM Dump Site)

Shell D – Living Quarters

Shell E – Living Quarters (Defunct) – Skitarii Chamber

Shell F – Living Quarters

Shell G – Automata Recharge and Manufacturing Centre

Shell H – Living Quarters

Shell I - Scrap Allocation Centre (ISM Dump Site)

Shell J - Scrap Allocation Centre (ISM Dump Site)

Shell K - Scrap Allocation Centre (ISM Dump Site)

Shell L – City Co-ordination Centre (Under Construction)

Shell M – Smelter / Metallurgy Workshop

Shell N - Plasma Arc Recycling Centre

Shell O – Carbon Nano-tube (CNT) Manufacturing Centre

Shell P – CLASSIFIED

Shell Q – Induction Workshop / 'Human Resources' Centre

Shell S - Internet Monitoring Hub (IMH)

Thought it would be helpful to give you an idea when I start talking about Shells.

Thank you to Jonas Copperwire for brainstorming.

That being said, here we go.

Chapter 16

The first official mission of the Adeptus Mechanicus changed everything.

Whispers of a new organisation were carried across the streets of Detroit. A 'Justice League' like organisation dedicated on waging a technological war on criminals hiding in the Deep Web.

But after the experiences of Wonderland and Looking-Glass, Tech-Priest grew tired of having to survey the Internet and the insanity that festered within. However, someone or something needed to monitor the ever convulsing tumour filled with useless garbage that was the Deep Web. There was enough crime occurring in that place you could have an entire department much less a division of law enforcement dedicated to tracking everything.

Cue the creation of the Internet Monitoring Hub (IMH for short); a special little subsection of the Adeptus Mechanicus that will do that work for him. Its first members were Servitors 0001-IM1, 0002-IM2, 0003-IM3 ('IM' standing for 'Internet Monitor'). But that number soon grew.

Servitor 0001-IM1 was particularly adept in 'recruiting' others to the cause; not entirely surprising considering who it _used_ to be. Promises of sating or supplying a disturbing appetite were made, followed by an agreement to meet in a deserted part of Detroit. Instead of a satisfied business transaction, he (and in some cases 'she') found a retinue of Skitarii waiting.

Before long the IMH was monitoring a significant chunk of the darknet markets. Sometimes it operated as 'customers', sometimes as 'service providers', sometimes as a 'business acquaintances', sometimes all of the above.

In addition to the creation of the IMH, shutting down Wonderland and Looking-Glass provided Cardsharp unique insight into the concept of 'money'. In particular that crime appears to pay very well. Raiding Tetch's domestic and foreign accounts was child's play and Tech-Priest was both pleasantly surprised and morbidly horrified at just how much money Tetch accumulated over a period of 2 years. Enough money if fact to maintain the Manufactorum's supplies for a significant period. Tech-Priest took it upon himself to keep a majority of the funds as a 'recruitment fee'. The rest was provided to Detroit city as an anonymous donation.

The first thing Tech-Priest used the money for was to pay back Wayne Enterprises for all the products that he 'acquired' off them, making them 'square'. The additional 'recruits' of the IMH, they also contributed 'recruitment fees'. Even the criminals that were well beyond Adeptus Mechanicus jurisdiction paid similar 'fees'. Tech-Priest could almost imagine the horror of certain individuals who checked their bank account one morning to find out that all their money just vanished into thin air. Oh, they would have called the bank and caused all sorts of problems. But they would not, for they would be far too busy dealing with the armed SWAT team crashing through their door arresting them for paedophilia, child pornography, arms trafficking, smuggling or whatever sordid crime they were committing.

The IMH was automated, the only time Cardsharp or the Skitarii were required was when one of the Servitors managed to gain a new recruit for 'rehabilitation'. Failing that, a criminal's details were forwarded anomalously to whatever relevant law enforcement agency was required.

Yes, Wonderland and Looking-Glass changed everything. So much so that Cardsharp's capacity was suddenly freed up. Truly the first official mission of the Adeptus Mechanicus was something Master Kyriz would have been proud of.

Except….

0o0o0o

In a part of the world rarely visited, in a place secret to all but a few, a series of screens flickered to life. _"Is everyone here?"_ L-1 asked. The question was rhetorical, no one bothered to respond. After all, attendance was mandatory.

" _So why did you call this meeting?"_ It could not be seen per se but the question was directed at the glowing figure titled L-3.

" _Last November, we dealt with the Roanoke Incident. But there was one last matter that was outstanding, that of the individual known as Tech-Priest."_ L-3 spoke. _"Several investigations have been undertaken, but with no results."_

" _I'm sensing a 'but'…."_ L-5 snarked.

" _However, we might have a lead in Detroit, Michigan."_ L-3 paused, _"There is talk on the street about some kind of….vigilante, not to mention there has been massive operations against computer crime and darknet markets across the globe."_

" _How massive?"_ L-1 asked.

" _Devastating."_ L-3 clarified. _"There are sporadic details of major computer crime operations shutting down in China, the Americas, Middle East and South East Asia. The FBI has busted about two dozen crime rings. They are being attributed to some kind of organisation. Entire sections of the online underground economy are being completely obliterated. Online illegal enterprises in Eastern Europe have been shut down. Half the enterprises in South East Asia have been exposed to police. Chao Pho has been completely disassembled by the Thai authorities. The Mexican and Colombians are starting to lose money. Even several of my…off-the-books transactions are starting to experience…interruptions."_

" _LexCorp is being hit?"_ L-4 could not believe it, LexCorp has one of the most advanced and secure encryption systems outside of the United States Defence Network.

" _Of course not. I would never lump the….grey transactions with LexCorp."_ L-3 grunted. _"But operations are being staggered. Transactions are being blocked. Product is being rerouted without explanation. Data is being lost or corrupted on both servers and in the cloud. My tech guys are working 24 hour shifts and they are barely holding the system together."_

" _How does this relate to Detroit?"_ L-4 while impressed, was still waiting for the punchline.

" _Many of the darknet markets are up in arms. There is a sizeable bounty on whoever or whatever is doing this. Computer experts are working both day and night but they cannot crack the organisation, but they have managed to determine its general location: Detroit"_

" _That's it?"_ L-6 sounded frazzled; none of the Light wanted to find the Tech-Priest more than him.

" _No."_ L-3 sounded annoyed. _"My sources have recently found a WXYZ 7 Action news report in Detroit."_ There was the sound of several keys echoed over the system. A news clip was shared amongst the members, a woman in non-descript suit appeared.

"… _in what is to be one of the most shocking discoveries in recent memory, a criminal ring, dedicated to the exploitation and trafficking of children that has been operating for over two years in Detroit, has been uncovered. We cut now to Royal Oak where we have a representative of the Wayne State Police."_

The scene changed to a uniformed officer titled 'Sergeant Joe Burns – Wayne State Police', he stood outside of a derelict house. 

" _We uncovered a child exploitation ring in Royal Oak and Hamtrack, both locations were run by Jervis Tetch also known as the Mad Hatter. He worked closely with Dumfree Tweed and Deever Tweed known respectively as Tweedledum and Tweedledee. We have located several children who have been missing for several months and we intend to return them back to their families."_ Sergeant Burns shifted uncomfortably, a growing frown on his face. _"The operation has been shut down but, Tetch and the Tweed twins are…unaccounted for. We are using every resource at our disposal to track them down."_

" _How did you track down this criminal operation?"_ The reported asked.

The police spokesman looked incredibly uncomfortable. _"We didn't we…had help from a third party."_

The reporter smelt a story and leapt for it. _"Who is this third party?"_

" _I'm sorry but I am not at liberty to answer."_ The spokesman clearly deflecting the answer. The reporter was not having any of it.

" _Is it whoever or whatever that is consolidated in the old Ford River Rouge plant?"_

" _I'm sorry but-"_

" _Is there a hero in Detroit?"_ But the reporter's query fell on deaf ears.

" _No more questions."_ The spokesman walked off without another word.

The scene cutback to the newswoman.

" _There has been a recent string of foiled robberies and uncovered internet crimes over the past week in the State of Michigan all emanating from an unknown source. This has led credence to the rumour that has been circulating the city of a new member from the Justice League. It's possible that the Justice League are attempting to reach out to communities and earn back some goodwill after the Roanoke Incident and the Amusement Mile Standoff."_ The newswoman revealed a hopeful smile. " _It's possible that at long last, Detroit city might have a hero of its own."_ The newswoman dropped the smile returning to a more professional posture. _"Tetch and the Tweed twins escaped from Gotham City's infamous Arkham Asylum in October 2008. If you know their whereabouts or have recently seen them please call 9-1-1."_

Then the scene cut to black, ending the news clip.

Members of the organisation remained silent clearly waiting of the punchline. L-3 sighed annoyed no one connected the dots. _"Let me rewind."_ The clip reappeared, rewinding to Sergeant Burns' interview. _"Do you see it? Let me enhance it for you."_

The screen zoomed behind the police officer's shoulder, focusing on the derelict house.

A red-robed form.

It was just sticking out from around the house, its figure clear enough to see metal like appendages sticking out from underneath the red cloth. And a single gleaming red eye.

" _Klarion?"_ L-2 prodded.

" _It's him."_ L-7 mused. _"Can't be anyone else."_

" _Are you sure?"_ L-3 asked.

" _It makes sense; Detroit and computer crime."_ L-7 chirped. " _Detroit…I should have guessed that...it's the closest thing to what he would consider a home."_

" _You clearly said that only one of them came through the Warp rift at Gotham Museum."_ L-3 prodded. " _Who is the second one?"_

" _Second one?"_ L-7 actually sounded surprised. _"What second one?"_

The image shifted to the house itself, inside the house obscured by dim lights and dirty windows was another red form. It was tall and look heavily armoured. Its image was blurry and looked more like a red smear than an actual humanoid. But it was there nonetheless.

" _Three separate places were taken down simultaneously."_ L-3 explained. _"Tech-Priest could not have done it on his own. Although they left before the news got there, they are apparently all dressed in red robes like our Tech-Priest in question."_

L-7 went quiet.

Too quiet.

Disturbingly quiet.

" _Klarion?"_ L-1 asked.

"… _Skitarii…"_ L-7 whispered, his voice a combination of seething hatred and nauseating worry.

L-1 did not like what he was hearing. _"What?"_ But his question was left unanswered.

"… _he's building an army…when was this news clip taken?"_ L-7 sounded rushed. _"Any other news about him?"_

" _Last month."_ L-3 confirmed. _"No further details have come out, he's awfully quiet. But my people are looking closely._ _There is also…."_

" _What?"_ L-6 prodded, the excitement dripping from his voice. _"What did you hear?"_

" _Apart from the vigilante and computer crime matters there are rumours of some kind of…messiah."_ L-3 sounded embarrassed for even mentioning it. _"Someone or something with the power to heal the injured and the sick. Apparently a child near Detroit that was crippled in an accident suddenly started walking."_

" _That is impossible…"_ L-4 muttered.

" _He won't stay hidden long."_ L-7 muttered to himself, recalling as much information as he could from his home universe.

" _Klarion what are you talking about?"_ L-3 asked.

" _We have to get rid of him right now."_ L-7's voice lost all of its playful charm. _"I'll go to Detroit now, I should be able to stop him."_

" _You will do no such thing."_ L-1 commanded. _"We agreed that upon discovering his location, we would make contact."_

" _You don't understand; we have to stop him right now."_ L-7 explained. _"Otherwise he will be impossible to dislodge. He has already embedded himself with the police to cease the investigations."_

" _Cease the investigations?"_ L-4 sounded incredulous. _"But what of the Mad Hatter…"_

" _Mad Hatter and the Tweedle twins are_ _ **dead**_ _!"_ L-7 yelled. _"And if they are not…they certainly wish they were."_ L-7's outburst shocked even the most stoic members of their organisation.

" _Dead?"_ L-5 paused. _"The Justice League would not tolerate that, even if they are at half strength."_

" _You know nothing."_ L-7 groaned. _"I have fought the Adeputs Mechanicus, they are like goddamn cockroaches. Giant metal cockroaches. If this Tech-Priest gets AdMech technology up and running before you know it, all of Michigan will become AdMech territory, then America…then the world. And we have no place in Cult Mechanicus. Believe me."_

" _I thought you said that the Tech-Priest is a novice and would not have access to the more dangerous and highly classified technology."_ L-6 clarified. _"You told me they lost most of it during the Men of Iron rebellion."_

The Witch-Boy did indeed share some details about the history of his home universe. It was necessary to explain about their new AdMech arrival. But even with the gruesome and horrifying history laid bare, even the revelation of the memories displayed at the trial before the Guardians of Oa…all of it paled to the reality. The other members of the Light could not begin to appreciate nor comprehend the sheer scale of desperation, destruction, cruelty and firepower that was being thrown across the galaxy on an hourly basis.

" _It has been a long time since I have been home. Things might have changed."_ L-7 clarified. _"Who knows what technology is stored in the Tech-Priest's databanks…"_ L-7 paused, muttering once more. _"….oh crap…what if he knows how to build a Gellar Field ….?"_

" _Gellar Field?"_ L-6 asked, perhaps a little too interest. _"_ _Qu'est-ce que c'est? »_

" _It doesn't matter."_ L-7 snapped to attention. _"We have to act now. I'll take care of this."_

" _No you won't."_ L-1 commanded. There was no specific action that indicated their panicked colleague heard them, but it was clear that L-7 did not disconnect.

" _We appreciate your concerns Klarion, but now is not the time for rash action."_ L-1 spoke with conviction. _"We made an agreement, and there is nothing that has occurred that gives rise to us altering our plan. And you will do nothing to alter our plans for this Tech-Priest."_

" _I agree."_ L-2 seconded. _"You told us about the Adeptus Mechanicus, and the technology they possess. Surely the benefits outweigh the risks."_

" _Besides, we are not talking about bringing him into the fold."_ L-3 chuckled. _"We just want to send someone to make contact. See what this Tech-Priest is all about."_

" _I know what this Tech-Priest is all about."_ L-7's screen crackled in static. _"Cog-boys do not negotiate. They may play second fiddle, they may even play dumb, but they are not simple-minded fools who will do something just because you tell them to…unless it was something they were going to do anyway. "_

" _We respect your conclusions."_ L-2 countered. _"But let us be frank, you used to be mortal enemies with this Imperium of Mankind."_ The way L-2 spoke of Klarion's former enemy seemed to roll of his tongue, as if savouring it. _"You will forgive me if this sounds less like a practical warning and more like revelling in an old grudge."_

" _I agree."_ L-3 replied with his own obvious intent. _"We are not shirking your warning Klarion, but you see this Tech-Priest from a very unique standpoint; a mortal enemy…or a former one at least. We do not. The benefits outweigh the risks and if Tech-Priest truly does become an issue we can eliminate him then. We can implement the trap. You said it would work."_

" _It will work; slam dunk. But by then it will be too late."_

" _Then we have nothing to worry about."_ L-1 considered the matter closed.

L-7 went quiet before whispering " _…you don't know what you are risking."_ His voice dripped with uncharacteristic concern.

" _The Light makes its choices after thorough consideration."_ L-2 sounded nonchalant.

L-7 made a sound somewhere between a sigh and heaving sound, he was prepared to argue about this till the end of time, but he could sense when the battle is lost. _"Let the record show I am strongly against this."_

" _So noted."_ L-1 replied nonchalant. _"Now onto the next logical matter, if we confirm Tech-Priest is operating in Detroit how do we make contact?"_

0o0o0o

Cardsharp was no stranger to feeling pride.

He felt pride when he assembled his first lasgun at age 4.

He felt pride when he was selected to ascend beyond the rank of Menial to Adept.

He felt pride as Archmagos X-38 TOM, the Master of the Mondus Gamma Forge Temple, gifted him a red robe after he took the Oath.

He felt pride when his first battle automata sprang to life, almost leaping off the assembly line to fulfil the Machine God's bidding.

He felt pride as he accelerated through his courses in intuitive mechanics, particle physics and advanced metallurgy.

He felt pride as he aced his Initiation; a week long examination where an Adept must complete a series of ever increasing challenges without food, rest or recharging.

He felt pride when Magos 0011010 –Janus –Theta told him that he aced the Initiation, reciting every prayer and litany, writing down every rune with systematic and microscopic perfection.

He felt pride as he knelt before the Temple of All Knowledge, where with a sacred blade he severed his right hand at the wrist and offered it to the Machine God.

He felt pride when the Tech-Priest known as Kyriz, a Rune Priest filled with knowledge and wisdom chose _him_ as his Apprentice.

But sitting now in his private quarters, bathing in the aftermath of the first official mission of the Adeptus Mechanicus, he did not feel pride.

Even as he received television and radio transmissions which broadcasted news of his work, with reporters celebrating that Detorit finally had a 'hero' of their own, he did not feel pride.

Rather the Tech-Priest felt shame.

How many children could he have saved if he just acted the moment he found out about 'Wonderland' in late December 2009?

Oh sure, Mister Tetch's fate would have been the same…or rather Servitor 0001-IM1, along with his Tweed associates (Sevitors 0002-IM2 and 0003-IM3). But how many children would not have been tormented by that sick degenerate?

One…two…ten…twenty…more?

But Cardsharp had bigger priorities…his Manufactorum. Nearly three months of hard work and dedication that Tech-Priest hoped would have made Master Kyriz proud. During that time the Mad Hatter fed his appetite and the appetite of numerous cruel people who hid in the deep web.

Upon smashing Wonderland and Looking-Glass, Cardsharp saw the children he 'saved'; the irony was not lost upon the cyborg. Those children were huddled in blankets, and reunited with their families, with weeping mothers, fathers and siblings. But their eyes were dead, like the eyes of many soldiers during the Subsector Marxian Campaign. In those cases, no one could help them…except perhaps Commissar Gevin who offered them eternal rest. Cardsharp realised his luck in being baptised as a Tech-Priest being so far away from the front line. Otherwise he would have ended up like many other men of the 94th Tallarn Desert Raiders.

But not all the children were accounted for. Some were missing.

Cardsharp raided the Mad Hatter's hard drives and servers. The encryption stumped the police and even the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

But not the Adeptus Mechanicus….especially with the heretical mind of Jervis Tetch at its command.

There Cardsharp found the Mad Hatter's clients, his suppliers, his partners. Those that were outside of his jurisdiction were filed to the proper authorities. Those within Detroit….well…Servitors 0001-IM1, 0002-IM2 and 0003-IM3 could use the company.

The children that were 'sold' were recovered….or at least most them. There were three children that were never accounted for dead or alive. They were sold to people overseas, in places where Interpol had no jurisdiction.

Tech-Priest wanted to go there and get them himself. Right now.

But he could not, he was bound by the Treaty of the Bat Cave. For now.

But the Adeptus Mechanicus always remembers.

Dead or alive, those children will come home.

And those that took them shall join Servitor 0001-IM1.

Until then, Cardsharp silently promised Detroit that the Adeptus Mechanicus would take a more active role in the city's safety.

First thing needed was the development of Shell L. The cyborg always had the intention of creating a co-ordination centre so that Skitarii and automata could operate throughout Detroit with the most efficiency. There was no time like the present.

0o0o0o

It was strange to have King Orin remain within the Kingdom of Atlantis. Atlanteans were reluctantly growing used to the jarring moments when their King, the Aquaman would run off to deal with surface world matters.

But it seemed that Roanoke Island was the best thing that could have happened for the people. King Orin resigned from the Justice League and has kept constant vigil over the Kingdom ever since. It was a relief for many loyal citizens to have their King finally take his duties seriously.

Every waking moment their King dealt with all the matters of Atlantis and indeed the ocean itself. Preserving the marine life, reversing environmental concerns and most notably reforming the defences of Atlantis.

It was refreshing to see the King so dedicated to the preservation of his people, commissioning fortresses the size of mountains and militarising the Atlantean magic. Atlantis was a superpower for many millennia, King Orin's reformations cemented it for millennia to come.

But it was not a desire to strengthen Atlantis that spurred the King forward, but a fear of oblivion

 _Have fun being king of the ashes._

The vision he saw, or rather the future that was shown to the venerable Arthur Curry was stuck in his mind like black tar. He did not share what he saw with anyone except his closest of family.

Queen Mera His brother Prince Orm. His apprentice, Kaldur'ahm.

While they could not appreciate the gravity of what he saw, they understood well enough that Aquaman was no more. King Orin would never leave his city again.

But the world, both above and below the water needs an Aquaman. Kaldur'ahm was always destined to assume that title, but the timetable has been moved forward.

Ever since Roanoke, poor Aqualad was swamped with a sea of books and pummelled with enough training to rival even the most veteran of Atlantean military.

Trainers from every field imaginable were summoned to be his teacher. Through no trainer was more rigorous, strict or tenacious as King Orin himself. Every second of everyday was grooming him to be the successor he was destined to be. Advanced sorcery, military close quarter combat, multi-species communication; you name it he did it.

Kaldur somehow became gaunter than he already was, but he was not famished or malnourished to say the least. Thanks to the training by the finest warriors and sorcerers Atlantis had to offer, he was lean, mean fighting machine skilled in complex magic and hand to hand combat worthy of the Atlantis Royal Guard.

After 5 months of relentless training, he was summoned. The royal chamber reserved for ceremonies. But there was very little in terms of attendance. King Orin, his brother and Queen Mera. To the side he saw Tula and Garth.

"Kaldur'ahm." King Orin spoke.

"My king." Aqulad took a knee before his lord.

"Your instructors are impressed with your skills." Orin smiled easing the tension of his usually sombre expression. "I am told, they are running out of things to teach you."

"They honour me with their tutelage."

"They honoured you with constant exhaustion." King Orin smiled. "Rise Kaldur'ahm. Today you bow to no one." The young Atlantean slowly rose allowing the water to keep him afloat.

"Kaldur…" Orin paused. "I cannot express how proud I am of you. You have excelled yourself beyond everyone's expectations. You have mastered everything that I have thrown at you."

"I have had a good teacher."

"Well today the teaching ends. The student has surpassed the master." Orin reached for his waist and removed the golden belt forged with the symbol of Altantis. "The person who wears this belt represents the finest and bravest warrior that Atlantis has to offer. Being a hero is a young man's game and I have come to realise that I am no longer worthy to bear it." King Orin descended the steps until he was directly in front of Kaldur. "Thankfully Atlantis has offered a successor in you."

Kaldur had trained so hard he never once considered what would await him at the end of all this. Now that he was here, he still felt like a child. "I…I'm not worthy of this honour."

"You questioning my judgment?" Orin teased.

"No, I…" Kaldur brushed off his embarrassment. "I guess I was just growing used to the title 'Aqualad'."

"'Aqualad' is no more. You have transcended the term 'sidekick'." King Orin placed the belt in Kaldur's hands. "Aquaman is a more fitting title."

"I will do my best to honour the legacy."

"Of that I have no doubt Kaldur." Orin placed a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder. "Congratulations, _Aquaman_."

0o0o0o

"I don't understand Mister Dobbs."

"TP, winter is over. You lived up to your word."

"And my word still stands. Shelter shall be provided to all those who need it."

"But you can't sustain this forever. Even I know charity is not free."

"That is not your concern." Tech-Priest waved away Dobbs' logic, deciding it was best not to explain that the Adeptus Mechanicus could in fact arrange their guests for quite a while thanks to the rather generous 'recruitment fees'.

"It is. I asked around. We want to help." Dobbs seemed earnest in his desire to repay the kindness of the adept that kept him alive during winter he would not have survived alone.

"I see…" Tech-Priest was facing a conundrum, he had a plan for them. But using them for labour was not part of it. Not that the red-robed cyborg could not use the help; he certainly could. Had Cardsharp been entirely composed of flesh, he would have collapsed from stress months ago.

But to use the homeless was not exactly an option. Not out of pity, but out the sacred rules of the Cult Mechanicus.

No one. No. One. Works in a Manufactorum without Adeptus Mechanicus approval…and the Adeptus Mechanicus would only approve children born into the Cult Mechanicus faith and that was only after the child's family stretching back several generations was carefully vetted.

Even as an infant, Cardsharp witnessed secrets that must never be shared, knowledge that must never be described to outsiders. If Cardsharp was not selected by Archmagos X-38 TOM to be a Tech-Priest, he would have remained as a humble Menial.

And Menials are _**born**_ in the Manufactorum.

Menials _ **live**_ in the Manufactorum.

Menials _**die**_ in the Manufactorum.

If a Menial was deemed worthy, they might have their skull salvaged into a servo-skull and they would _**stay**_ in that Manufactorum.

No one leaves the Adeptus Mechanicus. As much as the guests of the Manufactorum love him, Cardsharp doubted they would consent to the Adeptus Mechanicus lifestyle. To the ignorant layman it would be construed as slavery, but more enlightened adepts it would be an honour. After all, Cardsharp like any Tech-Priest or Menial knew that the definition of slavery from where he came from, is dramatically different to this world's interpretation.

Cardsharp took great pains to keep them away from restricted areas, for if they tread on the sacred ground…Tech-Priest could not allow them to leave, no matter how much he grew to enjoy their company…and Cardsharp did enjoy their company so. It felt akin to being with Lieutenant Dan and the rest of the fourth squad.

But there might be other ways…

It was toeing the line between Menial work and a 'public works' project, but there was one or two jobs the Tech-Priest had in mind that his guests could perform. If the cyborg's calculations were correct, the tasks in mind, while minor in nature, would come to play a critical role to the survival of the Maunfacotrum _Filus Detroitus._

"As a matter a fact Mister Dobbs," the Tech-Priest concluded, "there is something you can do to help."

0o0o0o

Hey fellas. Bit of comedown from the darkness last chapter.

Sorry it took so long to get this one up and running. It has been an interesting year.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I'll see you all in 2018.

TheBadPanda.


End file.
